In a quest to rebrand the transportation system in Lagos state, the State Government has revealed its plan to stop the use of “Danfo” and “Molue” buses in the state.
The Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode said this when students of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, United States of America, paid him a courtesy visit at the Lagos House in Ikeja:
Right now, we are cleaning out all the yellow buses you see in the state. As we proceed in the next six months and a span of three years, we are introducing 5,000 new buses of European standard to actually clean up the city, because, if you want to grow the economy of Lagos, transportation is key and then it’s a major infrastructure for tourism itself.
Recently the Lagos State Government unveiled new modern high capacity buses which are expected to be more durable and cheap. According to the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, the buses will have 30 seats unlike the regular 14/18 seats. He also said that the buses will be air-conditioned, comfortable with a support for maintenance and backed by appropriate workshop which will create jobs. He also revealed the plans of the LASG to introduce commuter protection number plates and body tags on buses to show routes and enforce colour uniformity on all public transport systems in Lagos.
Dr. Dayo Mobereola, also added that the project is supported by the National Union of Road Transport Workers and advised “Danfo” and “Molue” bus owners to join the project or deal with its consequences. He further expressed his strong belief that Lagosians would rather queue up to board buses at cheaper rate than what “Danfo” would offer and thus be economically displaced.
Although this improvement is a good one, it is still uncertain as to what the State Government intends to do with the existing “Danfo” and “Molue” buses rampant in the state and the likely high rate of unemployment it will result in.
You may recall that early this year, Ambode had insisted that plans were afoot to remove the Danfo from Lagos roads for a more efficient, well-structured and world class mass transportation system that would facilitate ease of movement within the city.
