Oshodi Transport Interchange Targets 1m Passengers

The managers of the global icon, Oshodi Transport Interchange, Planet Projects are targeting one million passengers daily when the facility becomes fully operational.

The Managing Director, Planet Projects, Mr. Biodun Otunola revealed this recently at a parley with media executives at the site in Oshodi, Lagos.

He said this would enable the facility take care of one ninth of the nine million passengers who go through the Lagos State traffic daily.

The interchange, which began operations in Terminal 3, one of its three terminals on May 1, lastyear recorded 1,600,000 passengers by end of year implying an average daily traffic of 6,400 passengers.

While the Planet Projects manages the facility owned by the Lagos State Government, the Lagos State Bus Services handles the transportation of passengers.

LSBS’ initial fleet of 35 at the facility was recently boosted by the Babajide Sanwo-olu administration with an additional 65 buses and there are hopes that the delivery of 820 buses currently at the ports will put more buses on the road and move the facility closer to its target.

Industry operators estimate that Lagos needs 7,000 high capacity buses and at least 14 terminals of different dimension to encourage owners of private vehicles to embrace the park and ride policy of the state government by riding on the buses.

Otunola, a transportation engineer and strategist, said Planet Projects was committed to making the interchange work to prove that Nigerians have the capacity to build and operate a complex transportation icon such as the Oshodi interchange.

“ This facility was built by Nigerians. There is no foreign labour from design to construction.

During construction, we were able to demonstrate the advantage of Nigerians managing their own construction. For instance, there was no day we didn’t work on site despite the rains. Yet, foreign companies usually stop work during rainy season.” Otunola noted.