Lagos terminates NURTW BRT agreement

THE Lagos State Government has terminated the franchise it issued to the National Union of Road Transport Workers to operate a Bus Rapid Transit scheme between Mile 12 and CMS corridor of the state.

The Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, on Thursday said the government decided to terminate the franchise agreement because of non-compliance with operational plans stipulated in the franchise by the First BRT Cooperative (FBC), owned by the NURTW.

He said, “The termination of the franchise agreement with the operator is sequel to breaches of the BRT Service Level Agreement (SLA) it signed with the state government. We have been talking with FBC for years to ensure the SLA was adhered to, all to no avail.

“Though the SLA requires a one-month notice prior to its termination, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, custodian of the agreement, gave a three-month notice, which the operator failed to honour.”

He added that the government’s decision had been communicated to the operator, saying the FBC lacked the ability to offer good public transport services to commuters on the BRT corridor.

“This has led to incessant complaints by members of the public over poor services provided by the operator and the deployment of vehicles not safe for use.

“The failure of the FBC to comply with the terms of the franchise agreement has led to passengers experiencing poor service quality typified by extensive waiting time and having to endure use of dilapidated and unsafe buses,” he added.

The commissioner said that the breaches, which the operator had indulged in and failed to remedy despite being notified of them, had made the state government to decide to order the operator out of the corridor in the interest of the public.

The NURTW, however, pleaded with Ambode to prevail on LAMATA to rescind its decision.

It stated in a letter addressed to the governor that the action could lead to the loss of jobs for 1,000 workers involved in the BRT operation.

The letter, which was signed by the NURTW state Chairman, Mr. Tajudeen Agbede, also noted that the union would find it difficult to fulfill a N1.6bn loan agreement it entered into with Ecobank in 2014 to facilitate the purchase of 100 buses for the scheme.

It read in part, “Sir, we are pleading for your understanding on this situation. We are ready to work with other operators on that corridor for the benefit of Lagos commuters.”