The Lagos Bus Industry Transition Program
LAMATA’s Bus Industry and Transition Programme (BITP) builds an integrated, inclusive, affordable, and accessible bus network for Lagos—formalizing informal paratransit operators, expanding the services to underserved areas, and empowering diverse communities through equitable mobility.
About this Project
The program addresses decades of unregulated paratransit operations Lagos has been faced with resulting in severe mobility inequities, unsafe operations, and limited accessibility for vulnerable groups.
Millions depended on unreliable minibuses with high fares, unsafe conditions, and poor geographic coverage, especially in low-income and peri-urban areas.
The BITP was created to transform this landscape through inclusive, affordable, and sustainable public transport.
The programme integrates informal operators into franchised Bus Operating Companies (BOCs) under a new business model, providing formal employment, training, and social protection.
It expands bus services to underserved communities, utilises the unified, automated fare collection system, and upgrades infrastructure including vehicles with local accessibility features.
It includes extensive driver training and a unique rehabilitation framework for existing ticket collectors resulting in workforce development.
Key Highlights
The BITP is innovative because it combines social inclusion with transport reform in a megacity dominated by paratransit operators. Instead of displacing them, LAMATA formalizes thousands of drivers through private companies, creating stable jobs and safer transport services.
The programme embeds social and gender-responsive design and digital integration via the Cowry Card, enabling fare equity and data-driven planning.
Its excellence lies in measurable results—improved reliability, affordability, and accessibility—achieved through transparent governance, professional standards, and sustained community engagement. This holistic model sets a benchmark for inclusive, affordable, and sustainable public transport in the Global South.
Facts & Figures
- The program targets formalizing 10,000 paratransit drivers. In the pilot, 765 buses have been inspected and rebranded, 2700 drivers trained, 788 driver-owners and 1300 associated informal ticket salesmen have been rehabilitated in the formal system.
- Daily ridership is projected to increase by 79% from 121,000 to 217,000.
- Accessibility improves with connectivity to the BRT and the Blue line rail and the future Green line rail.
- With the fare integration via the Cowry Card, fares are more stable.
