Lagos BRT implements new measures to fight covid-19

The Lagos Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on Saturday announced new measures to be taken, in line with government’s directives in the transport sector.

It said beginning from Monday, 4th of May, BRT buses will only carry 20 passengers, who must wear face masks.

The Managing Director of Primero Transport Services Ltd., operator of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Fola Tinubu stated this while speaking to reporters in Lagos, adding that the new measures are part of efforts at containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.

Tinubu also disclosed that the company would stop the issuance of short distance tickets from Monday, and that short-distance commuters that wished to use the service must be ready to pay for the longest distance tickets on their route.

According to him, the firm had scrapped N100 and N150 tickets for short distances in the main time, asking commuters to be ready to pay for the N200, N250 or 300 tickets, depending on their routes.

“We are going to carry only 20 passengers per bus, the 21st person on the bus will be the driver starting from Monday.

“We will space them zigzaggy; we will show them how to sit. We don’t want anybody to sit next to each other. There will be no air conditioner; we are going to open the windows to allow enough ventilation.

“We will only be doing long distance; we will only be selling N200, N250 and N300 tickets. We will not be doing short distance of N100 or N150 stuff. So, anybody that wants to do short distance will have to pay for the long-distance.

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“We want to concentrate on the buses on the long-distance since we can only carry 20 people. We will not sell a ticket for a short distance at all,” he said.

Tinubu said all the passengers must wear masks and sanitise their hands before they will be allowed to board buses, adding that the firm would provide alcohol-based hand sanitisers before the trip and after the trip.

Tinubu said that the firm would adhere strictly to the guidelines by the Lagos State Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA), its regulator.

“We know it will be a tough time for the firm but it’s for everybody’s safety,” Tinubu said.

He however called on passengers to cooperate with its staff assigned to ensure adherence to precautionary measures.

Speaking on how the firm will ensure social distancing on queues, Tinubu said the company would do everything possible to ensure that, admitting that achieving it might be tough.

“That is going to be tough, I don’t know but we are still figuring that out because we don’t know how people are going to show up.

“However, the good thing is that we have more buses now that we can deploy. We have used this opportunity of lockdown to fix some of our buses that were faulty,” he said.

A semblance of normal life is set to return to Lagos, the country’s commercial capital, as President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday announced a phased easing of the lockdown imposed on the state, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), from Monday, May 4.

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