Commuters on regulated public transport in Lagos State have saved about N1.9 billion over a period of eight weeks in transport costs following a 50 per cent rebate granted by the state governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu.
On 31st July, Sanwo-Olu announced a slash in the fares of regulated public transport by 50 per cent to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal announced by President Bola Tinubu on 29th May.
“Immediately from Wednesday (2nd August 2023) all public transportation that are being controlled by LAMATA (Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority)…will be plying all the routes of Lagos at 50 per cent discount”, the governor said.
Regulated public transport services, including the Bus Rapid Transport, Standard routes, First and Last Mile, Rail and Ferry have in total move about 7.5 million passengers over the eight weeks period.
According to data gathered through the state’s electronic payment platform, Cowry Card, the bus system moved 7,395,977 passengers, while the state ferry operator, Lagferry moved 17,543 commuters.
The Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line, which commenced limited passenger operation on 4th September 2023, moved 48,893 passengers over 21 days.
According to the data, transaction value of the services shows that at 50 per cent rebate, N1,848,167,460.00 was collected as fares on bus services, while rail and ferry resulted in collectible revenue of N17,842,975 and N13,371,750.00 respectively.
At 100 per cent fare rates, regulated public transport operators would have grossed N3,758,764,370.00 but with the 50 per cent rebate, the state government is expected to reimburse transport operators across all modes of regulated transport systems to the tune of N1,879,382,185.00.
On the transport fare rebate, LAMATA’s Managing Director, Engr. Abimbola Akinajo said the figures are a proof of how a government can be transparent in the delivery of relief services to the people.
“One thing is clear: our electronic payment platform is assisting us to gather useful data which will allow us to plan transport services to the teeming people of Lagos State. We are happy to continue to, along with our operators to continue to assist the government to deliver relief and value to the people”, she said.
Mrs. Akinajo urged commuters to procure their Cowry card, use regulated transport system to assist in data gathering to improve their travel experience.
