Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has announced the first batch of electric buses for the state’s mass transit programme to create a cleaner and greener public transportation system.
According to Sanwo-Olu, the electric buses will reduce carbon emissions and increase efficiency, ushering in a new era of “goodbye to high fuel costs and hello to cost-efficient transportation.”
Lagos State would run a pilot programme over the coming months to collect the necessary data to analyse the operational efficiencies compared to the current BRT buses and further enhance its public transportation service.
The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) and Oando Clean Energy Limited (OCEL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2022 to introduce electric mass transit buses, supporting charging infrastructure and service centres.
Frederic Oladeinde, Lagos Transport Commissioner, said using electricity to power mass transit is a step in the right direction, with the state gradually switching to private cars.
Interestingly, Sanwo-Olu claimed that the electric buses’ daily maximum range is 280 km while the average mileage of current non-EV public buses is 200 km.
EV manufacturer, Yutong Bus, made the electric buses with WiFi and air conditioning.
Oando announced on April 25, 2023, that it had received the electric mass transit buses, kicking off the proof of concept phase of its sustainable transport initiative.
By 2030, this collaboration will put approximately 12,000 electric buses on Lagos’ roads.
Oando said it has also received the spare parts and charging stations required to guarantee their proper operation.
What’s more, Sanwo-Olu announced that Lagos State would soon set up an assembly plant for electric buses.
