Covid-19 : BRT Scraps Short-distance Tickets, To Commute 20 Passengers Per Bus From May 4

Amidst Covid-19 pandemic, BRT scraps short-distance tickets, to commute 20 passengers per bus from May 4.

All passengers must wear masks and sanitise their hands before they will be allowed to board buses.

Amidst Covid-19 pandemic, BRT scraps short-distance tickets, to commute 20 passengers per bus from May 4.

In a move to contain further spread of COVID-19 pandemic, Primero Transport Services Ltd., operator of Lagos Bus Rapid Transit; says it will only be carrying 20 commuters with face masks per bus as from Monday May 4.

The new development was disclosed by Managing Director of the firm, Mr Fola Tinubu, while briefing newsmen in Lagos on Saturday, May 2.

Mr Tinubu also said that the firm had scrapped N100 and N150 tickets for short distances in the main time. He said short-distance commuters that wished to use the service must be ready to pay for the longest distance tickets that ranges between N200 to 300 tickets.

“We are going to carry only 20 passengers per bus. The 21st person on the bus will be the driver starting from Monday.

“We will space them zigzaggy. We will show them how to sit. We don’t want anybody to sit next to each other. There will be no air conditioner. We are going to open the windows to allow enough ventilation.

“We will only be doing long distance. We will only be selling N200, N250 and N300 tickets. We will not be doing short distance of N100 or N150 stuff. So, anybody that wants to do short distance will have to pay for the long-distance.

“We want to concentrate on the buses on the long-distance since we can only carry 20 people. We will not sell a ticket for a short distance at all,”

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Mr Tinubu also said all the passengers must wear masks and sanitise their hands before they will be allowed to board buses.

While the firm would provide alcohol-based hand sanitisers before the trip and after the trip, the BRT boss said passengers should provide the mask by themselves.

Tinubu said that the firm would adhere strictly to the guidelines by the Lagos State Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA), its regulator.

“We know it will be a tough time for the firm but it’s for everybody’s safety,” the BRT boss added.

On how to ensure social distancing on queues, Tinubu said that the firm would do everything possible to ensure social distancing.

“That is going to be tough, I don’t know but we are still figuring that out because we don’t know how people are going to show up.

“However, the good thing is that we have more buses now that we can deploy. We have used this opportunity of lockdown to fix some of our buses that were faulty,”

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had on April 27 announced a “gradual easing” of COVID-19 lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja, from May 4, after a four-week lockdown of the areas to contain the spread of COVID-19.

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