The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, on behalf of the Lagos State Government, has mandated the establishment of a 25% transport fare discount on the entire Lagos State Public Transport System.
The Times reported that this disclosure is available on LAMATA’s official X (formerly Twitter) account and is part of a public notice that the company released on Monday, November 6, 2023.
The 25% fare decrease will go into effect on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, for LAMATA-controlled bus and rail transportation, according to a notice released by LAMATA.
Recall that a few days ago, the Lagos State Government had ordered the implementation of a 50% transit fare cut on the entire Lagos State Public Transport System in response to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s directive on August 2, 2023, should end last Sunday, thereby reverting transportation fares to their pre-discount rates.
The agency revealed that petitions for the reintroduction of a 50% rebate for LAMATA-controlled bus and rail travel were the reason behind Governor Sanwo-Olu’s extension of the passenger fare reduction by 25% throughout the Lagos State Public travel System.
The statement went on to clarify why the government first decided to stop the August-announced discount on Lagos State Public Transport System prices due to an increase in the price of diesel at the pump during the three-month rebate period.
In response to requests for the return of the 50% fare refund for regulated bus and rail travel, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has ordered the implementation of a 25% discount, effective Tuesday, November 7, 2023, according to a statement from LAMATA.
“Governor Sanwo-Olu announced a 50% fare reduction on regulated bus and rail transport on August 2, 2023, and it expired on Sunday.
“The Governor has prolonged the 25% passenger fare cut across all regulated bus and rail transport services until another review announcement in response to requests.
“The price of diesel at the pump increased by approximately 50% within the three-month rebate period, from N867 in August to N1,300 in November 2023.”
Remember that, on July 31, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu declared that, in an attempt to lessen the impact of the elimination of the petrol subsidy, commercial yellow buses and state-owned buses would have their transport fares reduced by 25% on all routes and by 50%, respectively.
According to Governor Sanwo-Olu, the bus fare reduction was supposed to take effect from Wednesday, August 2, 2023.
In order to mitigate the impact of the loss of subsidies, the governor also announced the extension of the fleet of staff buses for the Lagos State Public Service employees. The announcement stated that the buses are prepared and would be distributed via the state’s office of the Head of Service.
