Commercial Buses In Lagos To Wear New Look, As Govt Directs LASTMA To Impound Unpainted Vehicles

The Lagos State Government has warned operators to paint their commercial vehicles red or yellow with black stripes or face the law.

This is against the backdrop of a directive given to the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) by the state government to begin arresting and impounding unpainted commercial vehicles across the state.

The directive states that all minibuses known as ‘Danfo’, including ‘Korope’, should be painted in yellow with black stripes while mass transit buses with two doors were to be painted with approved red colour by operators.

Naija News reports that implementation of the directive, which started yesterday has brought more troubles to commercial vehicle operators in the state as several of them are guilty.

The LASTMA General Manager, Bolaji Oreagba in a statement issued by the agency’s Director of Public Affairs Unit, Toafik Adebayo explained that henceforth commercial bus operators should ensure that their vehicles were painted in red or yellow with black stripes or be impounded by the government.

Oreagba, who warned that all intra-state commercial bus operators comply with the new directive said the move was in view of the need to comply with the laws and regulations guiding the operation of all commercial vehicle operators in the state.

He advanced that the warning was to ensure that commercial bus operators, especially those on intra-state services complied with the existing law of Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law, 2018.

According to him, the enforcement of the law has become necessary in other to restore sanity on the roads to protect the lives and property of Lagos residents.

Oreagba also noted that all buses that had been authorised to ply Victoria Island and its environs with an approved colour should be registered through the various established offices.

“Officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) have been directed to impound any commercial bus not painted in the approved Lagos State colour of red or yellow with black stripes.

“Any vehicle impounded will not be released until the needful is done in accordance with the Law.

“All commercial buses must be duly registered with commercial number plates and hackney permits issued by the appropriate authority in Lagos.

“Also, all approved area shuttle buses must henceforth restrict their operations to their ‘approved’ areas of coverage as anyone caught outside their jurisdiction would be impounded and charged to court accordingly,” Oreagba said.

The LASTMA general manager, who advised operators to comply with the warning in their own interest, also warned all intra-state commercial bus operators to desist from violating traffic rules like illegal parking, loading or discharging of passengers at unapproved bus stops, driving without seat belts, driving on kerbs/medians/walkways, BRT corridors, against traffic, illegal U-turn and obstructions, among others.