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As part of itsthree-year Bus Reform Initiative, the Lagos State Government is to introduceover 5000 air-conditioned buses to replace the yellow commercial buses,popularly called Danfo.
Under the arrangement,the State Government is to launch public transportation infrastructurebond of N100 billion that would span between seven and 10 years.
Speaking at theweekend in Lagos, the State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambose said: “You are awarethat the Federal Government paid the refund of the Paris Club Loan lastDecember and this is a money belonging to the State Governments due to therefund and so Lagos State decided not to touch its share of the Paris Clubrefund. Right now, we have a sinking fund of N14.5 billion that is already putin place to drive this public transportation bond.
“We refused to touchour money and we believe that the second batch of the refund should be paidnext month and eventually that will be N29billion that we will have. I will addanother N1billion to it making it N30billion to kick start this initiative.
“By the time we haveN30billion as sinking fund to drive the bus initiative against the bond of N100billion that we want to put into the market, there will be that credibility andcredence that the bond will drive itself and that is the whole idea.”
He said the proposedBus Reform Initiative would kick start this year with a sinking fund of N30billion.
“We decided that thebest thing is to allow the yellow buses go and so the Bus Reform Initiativeitself is a three-year plan of 2017 to 2019 in which it intends to bring in newbuses of 5,000 units in the three-year plan.
“The bigger size buseswill take 70 people and then the medium range buses will take 30 people. Webelieve that the middle range buses will be supplied up to 70 per cent of thetotal volume which will amount to about 3,600 units and then the longer rangein that direction,” he said.
