Emma Njoku
The Oshodi Interchange Bus Terminals will commence operations on May2.
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Planet Projects Limited, Biodun Otunola, who disclosed this to newsmen, yesterday, during a tour of the facilities, said transport operations to various parts of Lagos metropolis will commence at Terminal Three, which is expected to be commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari today.
He said the Oshodi Interchange Terminal is designed to address the traffic, environmental, safety, security, and transportation problems in and around Oshodi and the Lagos metropolis at large.
Said Otunola: “Oshodi is, perhaps, the busiest transport interchange in Africa.
“Prior to the inception of this project, there were 13 independent parks, where close to 500 buses were boarded at the same time, to different destinations across the country. “Besides, we have close to one million people in and around Oshodi on a daily basis. And, from the study we carried out, we discovered that over 76 percent of the space in Oshodi is occupied by transport services.
“Based on that, we discovered that the problem here is not just that of environmental, but transportation. So, we felt once we are able to deal with the transportation problem, we can as well arrest the other problems, including insecurity, the environmental issue of waste disposal, as well as criminal activities.
“In order to put all of that in proper perspective, we came up with the Planet Project.” Otunola said when completed and fully operational, Oshodi bus terminals, which he said offers worldclass facilities, would make travelling pleasurable for passengers in addition to eliminating other environ- mental and security challenges in and around Oshodi and Lagos at large.
“We have three terminals here, all designed with world-class facilities. Terminal One will take care of inter-city operations, meaning that if you are travelling to any part of Nigeria and across West Af- rica, you should be able to get a bus from here to your destination. Terminal One will also take care of people travelling to Lagos East and Lagos Island, Ikorodu, Ojota, Marina, Obalende and Berger.
“Terminal Two is meant to serve Lagos West, in- cluding buses going to Badagry, FESTAC, Mile 2, Isolo, Iyana-Ipaja, Ayobo, Abule-Egba, and so on.
“Travel all over the world is meant to be enjoyed and not endured. Here, passengers don’t have to wait for a bus in the sun or in the rain because, we have a comfortable lounge that can accommodate up to 4,000 passengers at a time. We have 18 escalators, so passengers can be lifted from one part of the terminal to the other. We also have skywalks that connect passengers from one terminal to the other. Unlike before, when people were always afraid because of criminals at Oshodi, now, there is maximum security in and around Oshodi with Close Circuit Television (CCTV) mounted all over the place, in addition to the presence of security personnel. So, the terminal is designed to make the journey pleasurable,” Otunola noted.