8th November, 2024
The Lagos State Government has launched the Interstate Park Accreditation and Passenger Manifest Digitisation project to enhance safety, reliability, and efficiency in interstate travel.
Speaking at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, Ikeja, on Friday, Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, ‘, highlighted the project as a commitment to ensuring every traveller’s safety and comfort when travelling to or from Lagos by road.
Osiyemi outlined the project’s primary goals: standardising interstate parks across the state and transitioning the passenger manifest system to a fully digital platform.
The project has two main components: Interstate Park Accreditation and the Digital Passenger Manifest System.
According to him, Interstate Park Accreditation mandates that all interstate parks in Lagos undergo an accreditation process. Parks that meet the Ministry of Transportation’s safety and service criteria will receive official certification.
“These accredited parks will display a distinctive sign, assuring travellers they are boarding from a secure and regulated facility,” Osiyemi said, noting that unregulated roadside parks would be required to meet these standards or make necessary improvements.
He explained that the Digital Passenger Manifest System replaces the traditional paper-based manifest with a digital platform, allowing real-time capture and secure storage of passenger information.
This change provides immediate access to accurate passenger data during incidents, enabling emergency responders to take swift action.
Existing parks with current systems will be integrated into the State’s central platform.
Osiyemi added that the initiative instils confidence in travellers, enhances credibility for park operators, and sets new standards for a modern, efficient transport system in Lagos.
In support of the project, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, emphasised its role in safeguarding Lagosians and enabling the state to better manage the flow of people entering and leaving Lagos.
He also assured that the set standards would promote sanitation, security, and a drug-free environment in accredited parks.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transportation, Olawale Musa, stressed the need for improvement and reorganisation of interstate parks.
He confirmed that the government would protect passengers’ data in compliance with data protection laws, assuring confidentiality for all information shared.
Olamide Afolabi, Managing Director of Touch and Pay (TAP) Technologies, the project’s implementation partner, explained that agents at accredited parks would digitise manifests by verifying passengers’ phone numbers and National Identification Numbers (NINs).
This information will be linked to the motor parks, vehicle plate numbers, and drivers through a unique identification code, connecting the data to the Ministry of Transportation’s database.
Afolabi added that the initiative would help phase out unregulated motor parks that threaten public safety.
Comrade Usman Teslim, State Secretary of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), praised the government for this innovative initiative and acknowledged the collaboration between the Ministry, the consulting firm, and the NURTW in transitioning from analogue to a digital system.
Other transport union members and stakeholders were also present at the briefing.