Residents of Lagos who are users of Lagos State Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) have appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu not to scrap the transport but to boost security on the buses, for improved safety of commuters.
They made the appeal on Sunday while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
According to them, a transit-tech could be deployed to make operations better and safer for commuters, to avert a repeat of the “Bamise saga”.
Miss Bamise Ayanwola, the late 22-year-old fashion designer, went missing after she boarded a BRT bus driven by Mr Andrew Nice on February 26.
Her corpse was found on Carter Bridge in Lagos Island days later, leading to the arrest of Nice by officials of the Department of State Security Services in Ogun state, after he fled Lagos.
A trader in Computer Village, who simply identified himself as Okwudili said the BRT was the hope of business people, who had to catch up early with business appointments.
Okwudili said it was impressive that the BRT fleet was increasing, adding that government should improve and digitalise operations for efficiency and safety.
“Government has banned Okada on highways, BRT is the fastest means we have especially business people.
“If you go to some countries abroad, they don’t have traffic jams because the government provided these big high capacity buses with everywhere.
“The death of Bamise should make all transportation stakeholders have a roundtable discussion on how to make BRT safer.
“Transportation is big business internationally, I believe that Gov. Sanwo-Olu can do it,” he said.
A 300 level student of the University of Lagos, Miss Peju Pedro, said “it is scarier taking BRT at night now because I will be afraid of rape or death. Government should make them safer”.
Pedro appealed to the government to seek private-sector help in regulating BRT operations effectively.
Another student of Agidingbi Junior High School, Master Joseph Kushima, said that the bus was assisting to carry students to school for free.
“We like BRT, they should not stop it, if there is security no driver can kill anybody,” he said.
