The Lagos State Government has confirmed that it will go ahead with its plan to ban all unregulated commercial bus operations, specifically “Danfos” and “Koropes” along the Lekki-Epe corridor starting on October 1, 2024.
There had been speculations about the suspension of the plans, but the State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Oluwaseun Osiyemi, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, have reiterated that the move is in line with the Lagos State Strategic Transportation Master Plan.
They have called for the collaboration of Public Transport Bus Operators, such as Korope/Danfo bus drivers, as the government releases restructuring plans aimed at improving the commuting experience.
Giwa explained that a stakeholders meeting had already been held with bus operators and union leaders in the state to emphasize the need for compliance before the set deadline.
He described the current state of bus operations on the corridor as chaotic and emphasized the need for collaboration to effectively regulate and integrate the informal transport sector into the State’s Bus Reform Initiative, using the Lekki/Epe corridor as a pilot test.
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Giwa further outlined some planned solutions, including the restructuring of existing unregulated public transport bus operations on the Lekki-Epe corridor, the deployment of high-capacity buses on the corridor as per the Lagos Transport Policy and the Bus Route Network, the reallocation and relocation of Korope/Minibuses to inner routes, and the re-registration and recertification of all buses.
This plan comes after an inspection by the Ministry of Transportation and Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA) to identify limitations of seamless traffic flow along the expressway and adjacent roads and to map out a systematic framework to address possible challenges.