The Nation Newspaper

Tag: LAGBUS

  • Driving is not a gender matter —LAGBUS trainer Shoderu

    Mr Babatunde Shoderu spent 28 years in the transport industry in the UK before returning to Lagos in 2011 to contribute to the growth of the industry in his home country, with the coming on stream of LAGBUS. He tells HANNAH OJO why the company is absorbing women drivers.

    HOW did you come about the idea of women drivers?

    When I came into LAGBUS Asset Management Limited, I asked the management if they thought of brining in female drivers, and it was like what are you talking about, women driving buses in Lagos? I told them women are just as good as male drivers and if we invest in them, we would find out when we compare their accident rate that they would outperform the men. This is because women are more caring in their customer relationship and they are not as aggressive as male drivers on the road. They don’t drive as fast as the male drivers because they think about the size of the bus and the number of passengers they have on the bus.

    Then, the management kind of pushed it aside. But I did a thorough research and found that Edo State Government stated it with the same Daewoo size of buses. Edo State invested a lot of money in training their female drivers. They took people who had no knowledge of driving, interviewed them and selected them based on their readiness and seriousness. Some of them were university graduates just sitting at home without jobs. Some of them were nursing mothers. They took people from different backgrounds.   I thought of it and I kept reminding the management of LAGBUS that we should give it a try.

    Is there any exceptional performance that a female driver has recorded so far?

    A year after I started with LAGBUS as the head of drivers training, a lady who was an air hostess with Arik approached us and said she wanted to learn how to drive our bus. I was thrilled. We arranged to make sure she has the right certification. She met a group of new entrants who were about a week into their training and she joined them. Though she is late now, out of the 19 in the group, Mrs. Phoebe Adeyemo was the second person to pass in that group exactly four weeks after she started training. We then deployed her to various depots to do our dummy run.

    When we started the performance pay, we were surprised that the late Phoebe was outperforming lots of the men and she was matching the top earners in LAGBUS. It is sad she passed on while she was in labour. We lost her and the baby. Her case was an eye opener for the management that this could be done. So we did advertisements but we were not getting responses.

    I decided that we should go for a road show which would cover nearly the length and breadth of Lagos. The response was mind blowing. We did interviews for the people that showed interest and we selected a few people whom we knew were ready. At the moment, we have seven women driving our buses while three are in the training school.

    It was learnt that some women who started the training later pulled out. What could have been the reason for their action?

    We even try to encourage them by paying them an allowance while they are in training. Also, the passes we issue to them take a big chunk out of their transport fares, which is always one of the biggest challenges for people who are not in employment. We pay them N400 as allowance on a daily basis. We   expect that every man or woman who comes into the training should be able to pass within two months. If you exceed two months in the training school, your allowance will stop. But on the completion of the training, your money will be paid to you. So there is no losing out.

    So we try to encourage the women to stay. But some women now started showing interest because they heard they are being paid while in training. So the ultimate goal was not to come in and drive, it is to get the training allowance and then take off. Some of them will meet me one on one to request for another job placement within the company apart from driving.

    Basically to get into our company, you need a minimum of OND. These are people some of whom don’t even have O’ level certificates. And when you tell them the truth, they will stop coming. Then you will find out their aim was not to come and drive the buses but to put one foot in thinking they could be injected into other parts of the operations.

    Could it be that the rough driving challenge in a city like Lagos is preventing more women from embracing the scheme?

    We must agree first that Lagos is one of the busiest cities in the world. With the women, I rarely see a challenge. Yes, there are challenges, but a lot of the women don’t get the backing of their husbands because the few that stopped attending the training school told us their partners asked them to withdraw. I have seen women doing this job in the developed world; they are happy and boast of their job. I don’t see much about the challenge of driving in a city like Lagos preventing them. I think Lagos and Benin would be the place with the most aggressive drivers in Nigeria, but that is not the challenge.

    In training them, there is the soft, lady-like posture, but that doesn’t work with the buses they are driving. They need to have a strong mindset that they are going for it. Some men spend two to three months in the training school, but I had a lady last month who started on the 29th of July and finished on the 28th of August. She met some men who had been here for two months and she left them. So, it is the person, not the gender. Once you are determined to do something, the challenges become a motivation for you to keep going.

    What is the basic requirement for women who are interested in the scheme?

    They need to have at least a secondary school certificate. Basically, they must be able to read and write in English, and must not be above age 50.

    What is the pay structure like?

    The pay structure is performance-based. For every day you turn up for work, you earn N1,000 for attendance. Then for every ticket that is sold on your bus, you earn 4 per cent. If you calculate that on a daily basis, averagely, our drivers earn in the range of 50,000 and over. We have captains who are earning in the region of 70,00 and 90,000 now.

  • LAGBUS chief urges commuters to report erring drivers

    LAGBUS chief urges commuters to report erring drivers

    The Asset Management Company, operators of the Lagos metropolitan red buses (LAGBUS) has advised commuters to report the company’s drivers engaging in reckless driving.

    LAGBUS Managing Director Mr Babatunde Disu, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday.

    “Recently, we trained the drivers on performance and best practices of transportation to ensure that they are safety conscious. The management is working to make sure that the comfort of passengers is guaranteed. But for us to reciprocate the gesture, we appeal to you to come forward and advise us on what to do to improve our services and we will not hesitate to do it,” Disu said.

    A regular user of the buses, Mr Emmanuel Idowu, described LAGBUS services as okay, saying however, that the company needed to work on the attitude of driver.

    “LAGBUS management has improved greatly now, you can determine when and what time you can get to your destination.

    “Their buses can be accessed everywhere in Lagos, the only thing now is that some of the drivers still drive recklessly,” Idowu said.

    Another regular user of LAGBUS, John Olukayode, advised the management to increase the number of supervisors in the buses.

    “If the drivers have more officers supervising them, many of them will be more serious,” said Olukayode.

    Miss Julie Okorie, a food seller at the Lagos Bar Beach, enjoined the management to extend operations time of the buses into the night.

    “There should be some fleet officers running the night shift because they can provide the best service,” said Okorie.

  • LAGBUS ready to engage more female bus drivers

    LAGBUS ready to engage more female bus drivers

    LAGBUS Asset Management Company, operators of Lagos metropolitan red buses yesterday said that it was ready to engage more females as drivers in its fleet.

    Mr Babatunde Disu, the Managing Director of LAGBUS, gave this indication in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    Disu noted that female drivers were more caring and careful, adding that being gender sensitive,would facilitate the realisation of the mandate of the company.

    “We are interested in getting more female drivers because they take good care of our buses and are more careful on the roads.

    “We want more of them to come into the system; we are calling on those who are interested to apply,’’ he said.

    Disu also said that the company was ready to train any lady or woman, who was interested in driving the metropolitan buses.

    He said that successful ones would be certified by the Lagos State Drivers Institute (LASDRI) before a bus would be allocated them.

    Meanwhile, one of the female bus drivers, Rose Joseph, a mother of two, has urged passenger to see them as a professional and always encourage them.

    “Area boys and men on uniform harass us, sometimes at non-designated bus stops, sometimes when we are trying to help passengers.

    “Although its challenging, but you need to be focused and determined; the management even gave some considerations to women,’’ Joseph said.

    Mrs Abimbola Agbekola, an accountant and a graduate from University of Lagos, also a driver, urged females to join the programme and make living from it, adding that “what a man can do, a woman can do better.”

    Agbekola said driving articulated vehicles, such as the LAGBUS, was a way of empowering the female gender.

    “My husband saw the advert in a road show organised by the management, and he told me when he got back home, and advised me to apply because he knows I have passion for driving.

    “You may not have driving skill but management of LAGBUS will train you and you will be certified by LASDRI.

    “I have passion for it, so I do not listen to what the passengers say, but try to be focused.

    “This is an opportunity for female gender to empower themselves and make life better, instead of waiting for their husband to do everything for them,” she said.

  • Don’t be reckless, FRSC tells motorists

    The Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos sector command, has urged the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and LAGBUS managements to monitor their drivers.

    The Surulere Unit Commander, Mrs Olawumi Oyeniyi, accused BRT and LAGBUS drivers of contributing to high rate of accidents with their over speeding, recklessness and hooliganism.

    She said some LAGBUS drivers always drive against traffic and have no respect for other road users, noting that they drive recklessly both on their dedicated corridors and ordinary roads.

    Besides, Mrs Oyeniyi said, some BRT drivers also behave as hooligans, thus constituting dangers to other road users.

    She appealed to BRT and LAGBUS managements to check their drivers and organise safety training and enlightenment programmes for the drivers and ensure that they are properly screened before recruiting them.

    Mrs. Oyeniyi appealed to commercial drivers to install speed limiters in their vehicles before the June 30 deadline when the Corps will start its enforcement.

    Speed limiters, according to her, were introduced to check over-speeding, which is another cause of road crashes.

    She urged transport unions to continue educating their members on the need to install the device saying: “Any driver arrested from July 1, for failing to install it shall be prosecuted.”

    She appealed to motorists and pedestrians to obey traffic rules and regulations. “Pedestrians should ensure that they use pedestrian bridges while crossing the highways and ensure they watch the road well, where there is none, before they cross,” she said.

    The Oshodi unit commander, Mr Taiwo Eko, also urged commercial drivers and motorcyclists to always obey traffic rules.

    Eko identified lack of knowledge of traffic regulations and driver’s impatience as some of the major factors causing road accidents. He urged them to engage in defensive driving and ensure that they have their driver’s licence.

    He appealed to corporate organisations to always ensure that vehicles are in good condition before embarking on any journey. He also called on them to organise safety training among their drivers to guarantee safety of lives and properties on the road.

  • Court adjourns N621m suit against LAGBUS till April 27

    In ikeja High Court sitting in Lagos has adjourned till April 27 hearing in the N621 million suit filed by the family of a Lagos businessman, the late Francis Oranyeli against the LAGBUS Asset Management Company Limited, operators of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

    The family led by its head, Pastor Victor Oranyeli is seeking N621 million from LAGBUS and its driver, Babatunde Ogun, as compensation for the death of itsbread winner.

    The other claimants in the suit are the late Oranyeli’s younger brother, Chinedu Oranyeli and widow, Mrs Taiwo Oranyeli.

    The late Oranyeli was allegedly knocked down by Ogun who drove a bus belonging to the company on September 5, 2013 while standing on the kerb at Ebute Ero, Lagos.

    The victim sustained spinal cord injury and died at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Idi-Araba, Mushin, Lagos.

    When hearing resumed in the case yesterday, counsel to the claimants, Chief Gabriel Amu Justice Atinuke Oluleye that attempts to resolve the matter amicably were being frustrated by the company and its insurers.

    Amu urged the court to hold the defendant company accountable as the victim was a young man who left behind dependants including a wife, three children and aged parents.

    But counsel to the defendants Mr. I. Okorie asked for more time to respond to the plaintiffs’ claims.

    Justice Oluyemi granted his request and adjourned the case till April 27.

    In their statement of claim, the plaintiffs are demanding for a declaration that the “driving of Babatunde Samuel, the 2nd defendant, in the course of his employment as staff, driver, employee of LAGBUS Asset Management Limited, which led to the death of Francis Oranyeli on the 5th day of September, 2013 was negligent and caused the death of late Francis Oranyeli.”

    They therefore demanded “a sum of N121, 200,000 being special damages for negligence, reckless, dangerous, and drunken driving committed allegedly by the second defendant whilst in the employment of the first defendant which occasioned and caused the death of the late Francis Oranyeli.”

    The plaintiffs are also asking the court for “N500 million being general damages for negligence, lack of consortium, lack of sustenance and maintenance, bereavement, loss of estate, loss of earnings, traumatic shock and emotional suffering consequent upon the death of Oranyeli occasioned by the lack of due care and negligence of the second defendant, who at all material times was in the employment of the 1st defendant.”

    They averred that the first defendant’s driver, driving negligently without due care and caution recklessly and dangerously, was involved in an avoidable accident with four cars, resulting to the injury and death of Francis Oranyeli, who was a pedestrian on the side of the road,” it stated.

     

  • LAGBUS trains captains

    LAGBUS trains captains

    The management of LAGBUS Asset Management, the Lagos State public transportation outfit, has begun the training of bus captains to ensure optimum performance on the wheel.

    Its Managing Director, Tunde Disu, urged the captains to always stop at only designated bus stops, warning that as no excuse would be tolerated.

    “People have different challenges bothering them which could reflect in their attitudes; so, do not feel embarrassed when you are faced with such. You must ensure that you do the right thing always. We are ready to be consistent with our policies, so that the public will know us for what we stand for,” he said.

    He stressed the need for captains’ politeness on the wheel, pointing out several complaints that the company had received from different customers against the captains.

    Deputy Head of Operations of the outfit, Olubodun Ogunyankin, noted that since LAGBUS is the face of Lagos State transportation system, anyone caught violating traffic rules would be dealt with accordingly.

    He advised the captains to be observant and duly check the buses for optimal service condition before putting them on the road.

    Its Head of the Marketing and Communication, Toun Gaji, reminded the participants of the mission, vision and policies of the company.

    He said it is mandatory for them to work in line with the organisation’s guidelines and be good ambassadors to the company and the state. She charged them to be decent, respectful and highly resourceful.

  • LAGBUS goes up in flames

    Commuters at the Ojodu/Berger terminal of LAGBUS on Friday took to their heels in panic after a bus which had just driven into the station suddenly burst into flames.

    A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, reports that the commuters fled in different directions when flames erupted under the front wheels of the bus with registration no: XP 962 AKD.

    The driver, simply identified as Amuda, and other officials of the LAGBUS Asset Management Company, operators of the buses, however, were able to promptly bring the fire under control.

    A commuter, Mr. Oyewole Kayode, told NAN that some friction on the brake linings may have caused the fire.

    Kayode, who claimed to be a technician, lauded the officials for putting out the fire, without any causality.

    He described the situation as unfortunate, saying it could have happened to anyone.