Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has approved an average of 46 per cent increase on bus services in all the routes operated by Lagos Bus Services Limited (LBSL). The new increase takes effect on 1st August 2020.
Governor Sanwo-Olu assented to the bus fare review following a passionate plea by the bus operating company on the need to sustain its operation following the negative effect of the COVID19 pandemic on public bus transportation.
Besides, the Governor also approved LBSL’s request to increase the number of passengers per bus from 20 to 42 in strict observance of updated COVID-19 protocol as directed by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in the operation of public transport, whilst ensuring all other measures are in place.
Equally, the Governor granted LBSL buses permission to access all the dedicated bus lanes in Lagos State, thus making its journey times predictable on corridors with bus dedicated lanes.
LBSL has argued that conveying no more than 20 passengers per bus, per trip had resulted in only 14 per cent utilization of the bus load factor, leading to 72 per cent drop in revenue while running costs remained fairly the same.
It stated that the fare increase would improve LBSL’s operational efficiency and place the bus operating company on the path to sustainability in the medium to long term.
