The Lagos State House of Assembly (LAHA) Committee on Transportation will tour the major motor parks in the state to ensure they adhere to the COVID-19 public transportation guidelines.
The Chairman of the Committee, Mr Temitope Adewale, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday that the visit would start next week.
Adewale, representing Ifako-Ijaiye Constituency I in the Assembly, said that the tours had become necessary to ensure that transport unions, their members and passengers do not jettison safety protocols.
He said that the primary responsibility of the government remains security and the welfare of the people.
According to him, COVID-19 is real and it is important for people to be aware of happenings within their environments.
He also added that they should observe the precautionary measures stipulated in the guidelines as they affect public transportation.
The lawmaker said: “It is also very important to keep to the COVID-19 precautionary rules and guidelines.
“There is now an increase in the patronage of our public transportation system. The guidelines are clear; once you go against the COVID-19 guidelines and you are caught, it will attract stipulated punishments.’’
He advised commercial bus drivers and cab operators to stick to the number of passengers the COVID-19 guidelines expected them to transport and observe other protocols.
“In due course; perhaps next week, we will be visiting all the bus parks as well as the transport unions’ headquarters in the state for talks.
“All the bus parks must have sanitiser and hand washing facilities for their members and the travelling public. Before anyone boards the buses, they also must wear their face masks.
“There must be, most importantly, social distancing in buses,” he said.
Also, Adewale said that school proprietors and operators should ensure that their schools adhere to all the COVID-19 guidelines before and after they would have been reopened.
He said such would include those that would be prescribed by the relevant agencies of government meant to guide the operators of school buses.
“For the public transportation sector, it has been a tough situation.
“School businesses and offices are being opened not because coronavirus pandemic has ended; but because of the need to balance all the needs of the people while fighting COVID-19.
“Residents of Lagos State must not lose track, we are still combating COVID -19 pandemic and all hands must be on the deck,” he added.
The lawmaker commended Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s THEME agenda for the state where traffic management and transportation take the central stage.
Adewale said that the government had achieved a lot in reducing travel time by adding more several high capacity buses to the existing ones under the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) arrangement.
He also said that the government’s records of achievement include: the improvement of some road junctions and the recruitment of more personnel into the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).
He also applauded the government’s effort in the development of the water ways and the rail system to provide an inter-modal transportation system for the people of the state.(NAN)
