It was a thing of joy for many on the Mainland on Tuesday when Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, commissioned the reconstructed and remodelled Yaba Bus Terminal.
The icing on the cake for the residents was when the governor revealed that the terminal would be connected to the Red Rail Line being undertaken by the state government.
While inaugurating the terminal, Sanwo-Olu observed that the delivery of the infrastructure became a priority for his government to boost the efficiency of public transportation service on the axis.
The governor said the complementary rail line would be ready in the next 18 months and this would give commuters options to choose the transportation mode they would prefer to get to their destinations.
He said: “Yaba corridor is a prominent feature in the Lagos State Transportation Master Plan, because of its peculiar nature as a melting pot of commercial, technological and academic activities. The city’s evolution over the years places enormous responsibility on the government to ensure that its dynamism and growth are sustained through balanced development.
“The facility being commissioned is a world-class terminal from which buses will originate and terminate. In the next 18 months, this bus terminal will be integrated with the Yaba station of the Red Metro Line that is being constructed close to the terminal. The Yaba Bus Terminal reflects our vision for regulated bus services, which the State Government currently champions through the Traffic Management and Transportation pillar of our T.H.E.M.E.S agenda.”
The governor said transportation services in the corridor would be supported by the recently launched First and Last Mile (FLM) Bus – a community-based transportation scheme that will take passengers from the inner routes to the major transit corridors to join either the rail or BRT buses to their destinations.
Sanwo-Olu noted that his administration, in the last two years, had been working to deliver transportation infrastructure that supports the state economy, urging residents to take ownership of the project and protect the bus station from vandalism.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladehinde, noted that the Yaba Bus station was the third to be delivered by the governor, disclosing that three new terminals in Ojota, Ajah and Ifako-Ijaiye would be added to public transportation assets before the end of the year.
“We are providing bus services into communities that are far away from the main transit corridors to cushion the effects of restrictions of the operations of commercial motorcycles and tricycles in areas where they are banned by the government,” Oladehinde said.
Managing Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Mrs. Abimbola Akinajo, hailed Sanwo-Olu for the commitment and priority he accorded to the completion of the project, which, she said, would provide modal choices for residents traversing the corridor.
In the terminal’s administrative building are control room, ticketing and sitting area, restaurant with kitchenette, commercial stores, passenger information display board, ATM point and sit-out area. The bus terminal has loading and off-loading bays for up to 15 midi and four high capacity buses per loading time, stable for 20 high capacity buses and public conveniences, water treatment plant, perimeter fencing and perimeter lightning.
It has a power house with 200KVA generator and 500KVA transformer, a muster point in case of emergency, pedestrian walkway, external lighting, a traffic system management (TSM) and signage, among others. The operation routes of the bus terminal include Lawanson-Itire-Ijesha-Cele, Iyana-Ipaja, Berger, Ikeja, Akoka and Oyingbo.
