Ikeja bus terminal to commence operations next month

The Lagos State government says it would deploy no fewer than 800 buses on the new Ikeja Bus Terminal next month.

Commissioner for Transportation, Ladi Lawanson, disclosed this during a visit to the facility and the Oshodi Transport Interchange construction site at the weekend.

He said the newly procured buses would enable the state to provide efficient and effective transportation to residents.

His words: “The state government is coming with multimodal and integrated transportation system, which will take care of about four million people on a daily basis across the state. The idea is to cater for Lagos residents, especially the lower and middle classes, who cannot afford to fuel their cars everyday.

“We should be expecting about 800 buses that the Lagos State government has procured to begin operations towards the end of next month.

“Ikeja Terminal is a key transport infrastructure built to improve efficiency in system connections, reduce traffic congestion caused by ongoing street loading and dropping off of passengers, reduce environmental pollution and improve security and safety of the commuting public.”

Lawanson said the Ikeja Bus Terminal was a smaller component of the big picture of multimodal transport system planned by the government.

He pointed out that the proposed Oshodi Transport Interchange, where three terminals would be integrated for buses to move people within and outside the state, was another government’s big project.

He said Governor Akinwunmi Ambode was passionate about providing residents with a transportation system of international standards that is responsive to the needs of residents and visitors alike.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on March 29, 2018 inaugurated the Ikeja Bus Terminal for commuters within Lagos and its environs.

Speaking, Managing Director, Planet Project Limited, the contractor handling the project, Biodun Otunola, said this was the flagship of the ongoing transportation reform in the state.

He added that the facility was sitting on 10,000 square metres of land, stating that all the basic facilities needed to make journeys comfortable, safe and secure for passengers had been provided at the terminal.