The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) says it will begin penalising commuters who pay cash on any of its regulated transport services from Aug. 1.
The authority said the measure is aimed at promoting accountability, transparency and full compliance with its cashless fare payment system across regulated transport operations.
This was discussed on LAMATA X space with key stakeholders and transport leaders on the topic, ‘’Lagos Cashless Transit: What Aug. 1 Enforcement mean to You’’, on Tuesday.
Commuters were also encouraged to report any driver or conductor requesting cash through LAMATA’s official email and customer service phone numbers.
Head of Legal LAMATA, Mr Idris Akinola, said laws and regulations governing LAMATA required commuters to use the approved electronic payment method (the Cowry Card) on regulated public transport services.
He also referred to Lagos State laws that treated both giving and receiving unauthorised payments (which he described as bribery in this context) as offenses.
‘’This means both the person offering cash and the person accepting it may be held liable under the applicable laws,” he said.
Akinola advised bus operators to employ trustworthy drivers and conductors.
He also urged the operators to carry out random internal inspections to ensure staff were not accepting cash and support LAMATA’s own random enforcement checks on buses.
“Both parties, if convicted under the applicable laws, could face up to seven years’ imprisonment,” he said.
Also, Managing Director Teejay Motors, Mr Adekunle Tajudeen, said the company had held meetings and training sessions with its drivers (“captains”) and boarding officers on preparation for the transition.
“We have instructed our staff not to accept cash under any circumstances and have emphasised that passengers must use a Cowry Card.
On challenges faced by operators, Tajudeen said several TJ Motors drivers had previously been arrested and jailed for collecting cash.
He argued that passengers were encouraging the practice by offering cash, so enforcement against commuters was intended to act as a deterrent.
He said to avoid disruptions, they recruited additional drivers and expanded their fleet so that removing non-compliant drivers from service did not leave commuters stranded.
One reason for enforcing the rule on commuters, Mr Adepoju Fawokon, a public transport and urban mobility expert, explained, was that enforcing the policy only against drivers had not been enough.
“Since every cash transaction involves both the person offering cash and the person accepting it, LAMATA believes both parties should be held accountable.
“The goal is to reduce revenue leakage and protect the sustainability of the regulated bus system rather than simply punish commuters,” Fawokan said.
Addressing top-up complaints, Managing Director, Touch and Pay Technologies, Mr Olamide Afolabi, acknowledged that some commuters had complained about agents loading the wrong amount onto their Cowry Cards.
Afolabi noted that new technology to reduce disputes had been introduced, the Carry Hub and mobile app, where users can view recent top-ups and card balances.
“Self-service top-up kiosks at bus and rail terminals allow commuters to load cards without an agent.
‘’Mobile app top-ups work with tools to transfer the balance from the phone to the card,” he said.
He disclosed that there would be a postpaid/single-card system, expected to roll out more widely before the end of the year.
According to him, the system is one where online top-ups will be available for immediate use without transferring funds to the card first.
