Transport fare cut: Lagos records long BRT queues

Long queues on Monday characterised many terminuses of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) of the Lagos State Government following the slashing of BRT transport fares to ameliorate the suffering of the state residents.

Lagos State Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu had, on Thursday, announced a 25 percent rebate on fares charged by BRT and other Lagos State Government-owned transport schemes.

The governor spoke during a live media chat to inform residents of steps being taken by his administration to reduce economic hardship for Lagos residents.

The correspondent, who monitored some BRT terminuses, observed that many commuters queued to board buses.

The long queues made some of the commuters to desire to stand inside buses rather than wait for long for seat availability.

At the Ayobo, Oshodi, Mile 2, Okokomaiko, Costain, and Ikorodu terminuses, the situation was the same.

A commuter and civil servant, Mrs Vivian Mgbemena, said at the Oshodi terminus of BRT that she rushed to the `standing’ queue when she saw a very long queue of commuters waiting for seats.

She expressed delight that the fare, which was N600 from Ayobo to Oshodi, was slashed to N450.

Mgbemena thanked Sanwo-Olu for the reduction.

“When I got to the bus stop, the queue was very long, and because time was against me, I had to stand.

“I even waited for about 30 minutes before I was able to board a bus for standing,” she said.

Miss Ngozi Ejiofor, who travelled from Okokomaiko to Mile 2 using BRT, said that the cut in transport fare was commendable.

Ejiofor, however, urged the Lagos State Government to further slash transport fares on the route from the N300 currently charged.

“It is still high; the government should help us reduce it further.

“It should also look into the number of buses plying our route,” she said.

A businessman, Mr.. Kunle Olowopoju, also praised the the Lagos State Government for the fare cut, describing it as a a huge relief.

Olowopoju, who queued at the the Costain Bus Stop of the the BRT, said that the the BRT transport fare from Costain to Ikorodu was reduced from N700 to N600.

“When compared with fares charged bycommercial buses, this isgood, but there is a a need to reduce it more. Things are really biting hard.

“People need to move around to meet their daily needs.

“When one cannot go out due to a lack of transport fare, it is not good,” he said.

Mr. Benjamin Anibogu, an automobile parts trader at Ladipo Market, also hailed the Lagos State Government for slashing the BRT fare.

He said that he paid N485 instead of N650 from Oshodi to JokeAyo.

Anibogu appealed to the government to do more to alleviate the suffering of Lagos residents.

“Prices of food stuffs and other household commodities have all gone up. Government needs to look into that,” he said.