Covid-19: Lagosians React As BRT Reduces Passengers To 20; Stops Short Distance Rides

By Akinwale Kasali

In line with the Federal and State Governments commitment to curtailing the spread Coronavirus, Primero Transport Services Ltd, operator of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Lagos, has issued new guidelines ahead of operations which begin again on Monday, May 4th. The new guidelines are a bid to curtail the further spread of COVID-19.

The management said it will only be carrying 20 commuters, wearing face masks,  per bus.

The Managing Director of the firm, Fola Tinubu, said that as from Monday, May 4th, 2020, the BRT buses will only convey 20 Passengers, while the 21st person on board would be the driver.

Tinubu disclosed that the company would no longer  issue short-distance tickets as from Monday, saying short-distance commuters that wish to use the service must be ready to pay for the longest distance tickets on their route.

The BRT boss also disclosed that the firm has scrapped N100 and N150 tickets for short distances in the mean time, and asked commuters to be ready to pay for the N200, N250 or N300 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 distances of N100 or N150 stuff. So, anybody that wants to do short distance will have to pay for the long-distance.

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

According to him, all the passengers must wear masks and sanitise their hands before they will be allowed to board buses to curtail the spread of Covid-19.

This new development Primero does not augur well with Lagosians who lamented that they have been locked down in their homes for over a month with no source of income, saying that this is another hardship the masses will face.

Lekan Akinkotun, a regular commuter on the BRT bus from Iyana Ipaja to Ikeja lamented that this is a big blow to numerous commuters who will be stranded at the bus stop, as it will also give way for commercial buses to hike the price of transportation.