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The Lagos State Government has taken delivery of 20 additional high-capacity Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses under the Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicle (EV) Buses

The move is part of the efforts to expand public transportation capacity and promote cleaner energy in the state.

The Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, disclosed this during the handover of the buses in Lagos on Wednesday, saying the intervention would enable transport operators to convey more passengers with fewer vehicles while potentially reducing waiting times on routes where the buses are deployed.

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Osiyemi said the initiative was not limited to the provision of additional buses but formed part of the state government’s broader commitment to developing an integrated transportation system that connects Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), rail, waterways and other mass-transit infrastructure.

According to him, the additional buses would strengthen the capacity of the state’s public transportation system while supporting the transition towards cleaner and more sustainable energy.

He called on the Federal Government to sustain its support to Lagos through the provision of more CNG buses and the infrastructure needed to ensure their effective operation and maintenance.

The commissioner also encouraged private-sector investors to take advantage of opportunities in fleet financing, vehicle leasing, CNG infrastructure, electric-vehicle charging, maintenance, technology, ticketing and fleet management.

Osiyemi said the state government would continue to collaborate with the Federal Government, transport operators, investors and other stakeholders towards building an efficient and environmentally responsible transportation system.

“Today, we receive buses. Tomorrow, we build a cleaner future. A cleaner Lagos is a better Lagos,” he said.

Also speaking, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Abimbola Akinajo, described the handover as another step towards improving the efficiency, affordability, reliability and sustainability of public transportation in Lagos.

Akinajo disclosed that the state currently has approximately 150 CNG buses, including 36 buses allocated to operators under LAMATA’s regulatory framework.

She said the addition of the 20 buses would further enhance service capacity on the corridors where they would be deployed.

According to her, the buses would provide additional capacity to move commuters, link communities and facilitate economic activities across the metropolis.

The LAMATA chief executive urged the beneficiary operators to deploy the buses efficiently and ensure proper maintenance so that commuters could derive maximum benefits from the intervention.

She also assured residents and other stakeholders that LAMATA would continue to exercise its regulatory responsibilities to ensure the buses contribute to improved quality, reliability and sustainability of public transportation in the state.

In his remarks, the Chief Operations Officer of the Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicle Buses (Pi-CNG&EV), Tosin Coker, said Lagos remained critical to Nigeria’s energy transition in the public transportation sector, making the state an important beneficiary of the initiative.

Coker also appealed to the beneficiary operators to maintain the buses properly, stressing the need to ensure that they continue to serve the commuters for whom they were provided.