The tension over the likely outcome of the #EndBadGovernance protest in Lagos, which began on Thursday, is gradually waning following the resumption of the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) scheme services on Friday evening.
When the Saturday Tribune toured Lagos on Friday morning, the BRT parks were deserted, with no BRT buses in sight. Many commuters who went to their respective workplaces had to rely on commercial buses (Danfo) at a significantly higher transportation cost.
Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, some commuters who gathered at the BRT park in Abule-Egba on Friday morning were disappointed as no BRT buses were available to transport passengers. “The cost of traveling to Lagos Island via commercial buses, popularly called Danfo, is high.
But we have no choice because the BRT buses have not resumed service due to fears of vandalism by an irate mob that might hijack the otherwise peaceful protest,” a cross-section of commuters told the Saturday Tribune.
Checks by the Saturday Tribune revealed that while BRT buses charged just below N700 from Abule-Egba to Lagos Island, Danfo buses charged N1000 for the same trip.
When the Saturday Tribune visited the Oshodi BRT Terminal 1 on Friday evening, some BRT buses were seen loading passengers to Abule-Egba.
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Speaking with the Saturday Tribune, the driver of one of the BRT buses, who identified himself as Mukaila, said the peaceful nature of the protest had encouraged BRT buses to resume limited operations.
“We have not fully resumed service—just some skeletal operations—because nobody wants a repeat of what happened in 2020 during the #EndSARS protest.
We are all cautious to prevent any BRT buses from being vandalized or destroyed. That’s why we did not operate yesterday (Thursday) and Friday morning,” Mukaila explained.
“However, given the current situation in Lagos, we were encouraged to start limited operations by the second day of the protest due to its peaceful nature. Hopefully, by Monday, more BRT buses will be back on the road to transport more passengers across the state,” the BRT driver told the Saturday Tribune exclusively.
Additionally, some shops that were closed on Thursday were observed to have reopened for business by Friday afternoon in Oshodi, Marina, and Mile 2 areas of the state.