The Lagos State Government has received 20 additional high-capacity Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses under the Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicle (EV) Buses, with the state describing the intervention as a significant boost to public transportation capacity and the transition to cleaner energy.
Speaking at the handover ceremony in Lagos, the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Oluwaseun Osiyemi, said the buses would improve the daily travel experience of Lagos commuters by providing greater capacity, enhanced comfort and cleaner journeys.
Osiyemi said the intervention was more than the provision of buses, describing it as an opportunity to build a “cleaner, smarter, and more sustainable transportation system.”
He noted that high-capacity buses could move more commuters with fewer vehicles and potentially reduce waiting times on supported routes.
The Commissioner expressed the state government’s appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the initiative, saying it aligned with Lagos State’s broader investment in an integrated transportation system comprising BRT, rail, waterways and other mass-transit infrastructure.
He also called for continued Federal Government support through the provision of more CNG buses and the infrastructure required for their effective operation and maintenance.
He urged private-sector investors to take advantage of opportunities in fleet financing, vehicle leasing, CNG infrastructure, EV charging, maintenance, technology, ticketing and fleet management.
The Commissioner said the state remained committed to working with the Federal Government, operators, investors and other stakeholders to transform public transportation into a system that is both efficient and environmentally responsible.
“Today, we receive buses. Tomorrow, we build a cleaner future. A cleaner Lagos is a better Lagos,” Osiyemi said.
Also speaking at the event, the Managing Director/CEO of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Engr. Mrs. Abimbola Akinajo, said the handover represented another practical step towards providing Lagos residents with more efficient, affordable, reliable and sustainable public transportation.
Akinajo disclosed that Lagos currently has approximately 150 CNG buses, including 36 buses allocated to operators under LAMATA’s regulatory framework. She said the additional 20 buses would further strengthen bus-service capacity on the corridors where they would be deployed.
According to her, the buses are not merely vehicles but additional capacity to move people, connect communities and support the economic activities of millions of Lagos residents who rely on public transportation.
The LAMATA boss charged the beneficiary operators to deploy the buses efficiently and maintain them properly to ensure that commuters derive the full benefits of the intervention.
She further assured Lagos residents and partners that LAMATA would continue to provide the necessary regulatory oversight to ensure that the buses contribute meaningfully to the quality, reliability and sustainability of public transportation across the metropolis.
In his speech, the Chief Operations Officer, Pi-CNG&EV, Mr. Tosin Coker said Lagos “is critical to the energy transition in the public transport sector”; hence the Presidential initiative accorded importance to Lagos.
He urged the beneficiary operators to ensure proper maintenance of the buses so they could serve the populace, whom they were meant to serve.
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