Lagos begins interstate park accreditation

The Lagos State Ministry of Transportation has begun the interstate park accreditation and passenger manifest digitisation aimed at enhancing safety, reliability, and efficiency in interstate travel across the state.

The state Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi, said this at a news conference on Friday in Lagos.

According to Osiyemi, the initiative is an ambitious programme designed to standardise interstate parks and digitise the passenger manifest system.

“ This is more than just a modernisation effort; it is a commitment to the safety and comfort of every traveller who moves in and out of Lagos by road.

“The goal of this initiative is straightforward, it is to make interstate travel safer, more efficient, and more reliable.

“Currently, our passenger manifest system operates on a paper-based approach, which can lead to inefficiencies and delays in critical situations.

“By transitioning to a fully digital platform, we aim to securely capture and store passenger information in real-time, providing immediate access to accurate data in the event of any incidents.

“Alongside this, we are also implementing an accreditation system for all interstate parks, setting a new standard of quality, safety, and service for all operators,” he said.

Osiyemi noted that the first component of the project was the accreditation of all interstate parks across Lagos state, noting that parks that meet minimum safety and service standards would receive the ministry’s official certification.

“These certified parks will display a prominently placed signage, assuring passengers that they are boarding from a park recognised and trusted by Lagos state.

“ For parks that do not meet our standards, particularly the unregulated roadside “mushroom” parks, they will require improvements. This is a collective move toward a safer, more reliable interstate travel experience for every Lagosian.

“The second part of this project focuses on transforming our manifest system into a digital, centralized platform.

“Each passenger’s information will now be digitally recorded, ensuring that data is secure, accurate, and instantly accessible to the necessary authorities,” he said.

He said that Lagos had 30 parks in its books and well over 100 that had not been regulated, adding that sorting was ongoing on the 100.

He said that there had been a lot of stakeholders’ meeting before now, and still ongoing, noting that there is a pilot run now at Ojota.

He noted that the project would benefit the passengers, park operators and the state.

“For the passengers, they will experience increased safety, reliability, and convenience, accredited park operators, will gain a mark of quality that enhances their reputation and attracts more passengers and the state, this initiative marks a vital step in modernisation of its transportation sector,” he said.

Mr Olawale Musa, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, while introducing the purpose of the event noted that the aim was to bring a semblance of sanity into interstate travel.

According to Musa, there is need to organise the state’s parks, to be able to know who comes and goes from Lagos and know people who are authorised to carry passengers.

“This is about safety and security of people in the state,” he said.

Also, Mr Olamide Afolabi, Chief Executive Officer, Touch and Pay Technology, noted that agents would be assigned to the parks to take the manifest.

Afolabi noted that the process was not to create queues or chaos but to make it seamless for people.

“The information provided will be mapped to the number plate of the driver and the idea is to improve safety and build trust with the government.

“The many mushroom parks in which some ills are done, with the introduction of park accreditation, they will all be phased out,” he said.

Mr Usman Teslim, Secretary, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Lagos state chapter, said the move was not new, adding that it was just about moving operations from analogue to digital.

“The transport unions are part of this development, we have been having meetings with government and we believe at the end of the day, there will be good transport system in Lagos,” he said.