The Lagos State government announced that the state’s Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Red Line will commence operations in September. Mrs. Abimbola Akinajo, the Managing Director of Lagos State Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), revealed this at a news conference organized by the Ministry of Transportation and its agencies in Lagos on Tuesday.
She mentioned that the Red Line rail is 99 percent ready and is set to begin operations in the last quarter of the year. Akinajo, who was represented at the briefing by the agency’s Director for Rail, Mr. Olasukanmi Okusaga, stated that the technical test run for the Red Line system has already begun in preparation for the September launch. She also shared that “The train will be making four trips per day from Oyingbo to Agbado at 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
This schedule will run for four weeks.” Additionally, Mr. Idowu Oguntona, the Managing Director of Lagos Bus Services Limited (LBSL), reported that the company has provided transportation to two million Lagos residents from May till date. Oguntona mentioned that the LBSL has a fully accredited high-capacity training school for drivers and has put in place a Sustainable Policy to decarbonize their fleet for environmental responsibility.
Also, the General Manager of the Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA), Mr. Rasheed Muri-Okunola, highlighted that the authority has automated its system to ensure seamless service delivery. He added, “We are working to ensure seamless delivery of service, reducing the time to obtain one’s plate number from 48 hours to 36 hours. The MVAA is collaborating with the Lagos State Number Plate Production Authority to achieve this, and we have a one-stop center at Ikorodu, Lekki, Agbado, and others.”