By Chiazo Ogbolu
Long queues on Monday characterised many terminuses of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) of Lagos State Government following slashing of BRT transport fare to ameliorate the suffering of the state residents.
Lagos State Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had, on Thursday, announced 25 per cent rebate on fares charged by BRT and other Lagos State Government-owned transport schemes.
The governor spoke during a live media chat to intimate residents of steps being taken by his administration to reduce economic hardship on Lagos residents.
A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) 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 same.
A commuter and civil servant, Mrs Vivian Mgbemena, told NAN 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, told NAN that the cut in transport fare was commendable.
Ejiofor, however, urged Lagos State Government to further slash transport fare on the route from N300 currently charged.
“It is still high; the government should help us to reduce it further.
“It should also look into the number of buses plying our route,” she said.
A businessman, Mr Kunle Olowopoju, also praised Lagos State Government for the fare cut, describing it as huge relief.
Olowopoju, who queued at Costain Bus Stop of BRT, said that BRT transport fare from Costain to Ikorodu was reduced from N700 to N600.
“When compared with fares charged by commercial buses, this is good, but there is 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 lack of transport fare, it is not good,” he said.
Mr Benjamin Anibogu, an automobile parts trader at Ladipo Market, also hailed Lagos State Government for slashing the BRT fare.
He told NAN 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. (NAN)
