Governor of Lagos State, Mr Jide Sanwoolu and Nigerian oil and gas company Oando PLC recently announced the arrival of the first set of electric buses in Lagos to enhance public transportation. The new electric buses were unveiled at the Lagos Bus Services Limited Office, Oshodi.
In April 28, 2022, Oando Clean Energy Limited (OCEL), and the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable the deployment of Electric buses and other supporting infrastructure towards attaining a sustainable road transport system in Lagos State.
Oando Clean Energy Limited is the renewable energy subsidiary of Oando Energy Resources (OER), and part of their mission is to meet the continent’s energy demands by harnessing renewable sources, and investing in climate-friendly and bankable energy projects in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
This is a commitment of both LASG and Oando to cut down greenhouse gases by replacing it with cleaner sources of energy. This initiative will accelerate the Government Transportation Agenda and positively impact the health of Lagosians and the environment in general.
This initiative is still at the Pilot Stage, a lot of data gathering will still be done in comparison with the existing BRT system, this means addition electric buses will be added to the BRT fleet, it will carry passengers, use BRT Lane, and the payment system Cowry card.
The electric Buses were launched in May 2023.
According to the Lagos Bus Services Limited (LBSL), it shows that an average BRT travels a maximum of 200km per day, however, the new Electric buses has the ability to travel 280km at full charge. Each Bus has 3 CCTV Cameras in it, It has a capacity to carry 40 Passengers and has room for standing too to accommodate more. There is also a ramp (for wheelchair) for People Living with Disabilities (PWDs).
The MoU signed with Oando shows they will provide charging stations & other supporting infrastructure. There will be charging stations at the LBSL Facility to charge these first set while there are plans to strategically place Universal Chargers at public places.
There are ongoing plans to establish an Assembly Plant for Electric Buses in Lagos State.