The Primero Transport Services Limited, operators of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on Monday said it has started the sterilization of all surfaces within and without its buses to curb further spread of COVID-19.
The General Manager (Operations) of the firm, Mr Segun Anako disclosed this at a news conference in Lagos on Monday.
According to him, the company took the steps in line with government’s directive and to reduce the spread as much as possible.
“What we have done as an organisation is to contract Infinity Services to carry out the thorough cleaning and sterilisation of all surfaces within and outside our buses to ensure that they are free of viruses and germs.
“We have provided hand sanitizers for our passengers, and in addition, all our bus drivers, inspectors and ticketing officers would always be required to wear protective masks and gloves.
“Daily temperature checks of all staff would be embarked upon before commencing operations and any staff found with above normal temperatures would be asked to get medical clearance before resumption of their duties.”
“We are also in ongoing discussions with Lagos State to facilitate a daily disinfection of the bus-stops,” Anako said.
The general manager said the company is encouraging the usage of electronics card, instead of cash and paper ticket, by commuters for fares payment, to further reduce the risk of transmitting the virus.
“We are encouraging the use of electronic cards for payment on our buses against cash and paper ticket.
“This will help in minimizing the spread of the virus as this is higher through cash and paper, ” he added.
Anako called on all well-meaning Lagos residents to support the efforts of the State Government in ensuring that the Virus does not spread further through human interaction and contact.
He urged passengers to ensure that they comply with the Lagos State directive of not more than 50 persons in a gathering.
The general manager urged commuters to ensure that they practice the social distancing technique of keeping a space of at least a meter between themselves and the next person on the queue.
“On our part, we are ensuring that we do not carry above the recommended passenger limits and our staffs are mandated to restrict entry once that capacity has been reached,” he added.
Fielding questions, Primero’s Managing Director Mr Fola Tinubu said the company would make all its vehicles available to the government in the eventuality of any emergency partial or total shut down as a result of the pandemic invasion in the country.
He said the company will comply in full with the state directive, adding that though the company operates 232 buses, efforts are on to increase the buses to 320, just to reduce the pain and stop overloading.
“Our buses carry only 42 passengers and we have told all our drivers and ticketers not to exceed this,” he said.