Burnt BRT buses: We’re suffering, Lagos commuters lament

The move to solve the mass transportation challenge in Lagos State suffered a setback with the burning of 80 mass transit buses, popularly known as BRT. About two months after, commuters are yet to recover from this, Daily Trust Saturday can report. On a daily basis, commuters in Lagos go through harrowing experiences as they […]

The move to solve the mass transportation challenge in Lagos State suffered a setback with the burning of 80 mass transit buses, popularly known as BRT. About two months after, commuters are yet to recover from this, Daily Trust Saturday can report.

On a daily basis, commuters in Lagos go through harrowing experiences as they wait endlessly for the popular Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) buses at various terminals.

The situation of commuters worsened following the recent EndSARS protest, when many of the buses were set ablaze by suspected hoodlums.

It would be recalled that on October 21, 2020, the state came under heavy attack and many public and private properties were set ablaze.

In the process, no fewer than 80 buses were burnt – 23 big buses at Berger and 57 medium-sized ones at Oyingbo.

While the big buses cost $200,000, the small-sized bus costs $100,000 per unit, according to the state government, which put the total cost of the burnt vehicles at N3.9billion.

As part of its transportation reform, the state government rolled out hundreds of buses to ply various routes, after building 13 modern terminals in all parts of the state.

The project started from the last administration.

The state government said the project was in line with its Smart City Initiative to ensure a gradual phase out of the rickety yellow buses in the state.

Daily Trust Saturday reports that the destruction of the BRT buses is a major setback for the state government, and commuters now pay a heavy price for the action of the hoodlums.

When our correspondent visited the Ojodu-Berger terminal, the place was still littered with carcasses of the burnt buses. Being a weekday, a huge crowd of passengers were stranded.

It was, however, learnt that a certain number of buses have been added to the fleet, but this could not be ascertained at press time.

Some Lagos residents who spoke with our correspondents lamented the destruction of the BRT buses, saying the action has subjected them to a lot of suffering.

Mr Jude Chinedu said boarding buses from Berger to Obalende to work had become chaotic since the buses were burnt.

“From here to Obalende, I usually boarded the bus every morning, but we have been facing serious hardship since the destruction of the buses. We were told that they added some new ones, but we are yet to see the impact. Even before the EndSARS protest, the buses were not enough,’’ he said.

Another commuter, Titi Adeola, said she usually boarded the bus to Obalende on her way to Lekki, where she works every day, but now, she pays more to go to work.

“With N250 I would board the bus to Obalende, from where I would join another one going to Lekki. I was spending N500 or less, but now, we are paying more,’’ she said.

Daily Trust Saturday also observed that commercial yellow buses have taken advantage of the situation to charge exorbitant fares on major routes in the state.

From the same Berger, yellow buses charge between N300 and N400 to Obalende, when the BRT buses were not charging up to that.

Private vehicles were also seen conveying passengers to their various destinations on the Island.

The situation was even worse at Oyingbo, where over 50 buses were burnt and virtually all the routes cut off temporarily.

It was also learnt that the old mass transit buses, majority of which have become rickety, still convey commuters from Oyingbo to various parts of the state.

The over 50 mini buses burnt at Oyingbo were commissioned during the first year anniversary of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The terminal was constructed to serve as a transportation hub, with the red light rail terminating there.

Commuters who spoke with our correspondent said the buses had already commenced commercial activities from Oyingbo to Bariga, Idumota, Lagos Island, Ikorodu and Ikeja, among other places, before the ugly EndSARS incident took place.

The yellow buses have, however, returned to those routes, charging exorbitant fares.

As at press time, officials of the state government could not be reached for their reaction, but a source at the state Bus Service Limited (LBSL) said efforts were ongoing to replace the burnt buses.

“I can confirm to you that some buses have been replaced at Berger, but I don’t know that of Oyingbo. If you go to Berger you would see that there are more buses operating from the mini terminus along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway,’’ the source, who is a staff of the LBSL said, directing our correspondent to the management of the organisation.

The managing director/chief executive officer of the LBSL, Idowu Oguntona, could not be reached on his mobile lines as they were switched off. He did not also respond to a text message sent to him.

Also, the commissioner for transport in the state, Dr Frederick Oladehinde, did not pick or return several calls on his mobile line. He also did not reply the text message sent to him.