Hundreds of passengers were Monday morning stranded on Lagos-Ikorodu corridor as the order by Lagos government restricting the operations of buses belonging to LAGBUS Assets Management Company, from the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), came into force.
However, no fewer than 12 BRT buses belonging to Primero Transport Service Limited, the BRT franchisee on the Ikorodu road, were vandalised by angry bus drivers and conductors working with LAGBUS, in protest against the directive to vacate the route.
Four of the protesters have been arrested by the operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) who subsequently quelled the riot, while one said to have been severely wounded is said to be receiving treatment in a hospital.
Passengers were seen in unusual extended queues at various bus stops along the corridor, as the protesters, for many hours, prevented Primero from rolling out its buses to convey waiting passengers.
Olanrewaju Elegushi, the commissioner for transportation had at the weekend directed state-owned LAGBUS and other high capacity buses operators to cease their operations on the Ikorodu road corridor. Before now, high capacity buses run by LAGBUS and other transporters were allowed to complement those operated Primero Transport Service Limited, on the route.
Elegushi said the decision to stop them became necessary as the state is set to introduce Intelligent Traffic System along the corridor to enhance the BRT operations. “Henceforth, all LAGBUS buses can only provide end to end bus services using the expressway and service lanes along the Ikorodu Road stretch,” Elegushi had said.
The BRT lane is a dedicated bus corridor not affected by the usual peak hour traffic congestion on the main expressway. Since its creation in 2008, commuters seeking to escape the crawling traffic on the main expressway have been patronising.
Margret Ilori, one of the passengers at Palmgroove Bus Stop, voiced out her disappointment. She said she was not aware of the government’s directive to other bus operators to withdraw their buses from the road, until she got to the bus stop and saw the crowd. Ilori, howeever, strongly condemned the resort to violence by operators of LAGBUS buses.
Kola Ojelabi, external public relations specialist of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), the regulator of the BRT operations, told BusinessDay, condemned the protesters.
