TRAVEL SAFETY: LAGOS LAUNCHES INTERSTATE PARK ACCREDITATION, PASSENGER MANIFEST DIGITIZATION

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The Lagos State Government has unveiled the Interstate Park Accreditation and Passenger Manifest Digitization project, aimed at revolutionising interstate travel through improved safety, reliability, and efficiency.

Speaking Friday at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa Ikeja, Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation Mr. Oluwaseun Osiyemi emphasized the project’s significance, saying it is a commitment to the comfort and safety of every traveler entering or leaving Lagos by road.

Osiyemi outlined the project’s primary goals, which include standardizing interstate parks throughout the state and converting the passenger manifest system into a fully digital platform. He went on to say that Interstate Park Accreditation and the Digital Passenger Manifest System are the two main parts of the program.

According to him, Interstate Park Accreditation will require all interstate parks in Lagos to undergo an accreditation process, where parks that meet the Ministry of Transportation’s safety and service standards will be officially certified.

“These accredited parks will display distinctive signage, reassuring travellers that they are boarding from a secure and regulated facility. Unregulated, roadside “mushroom” parks will be required to meet specific standards or make necessary improvements to operate”, he said.

The Commissioner went on to say that the Digital Passenger Manifest System is switching from a paper-based manifest system to a digital platform that will allow for the safe and in-the-moment collection of passenger data. According to him, in the event of a crisis, emergency responders will have instant access to precise passenger information, enabling them to act quickly.

Established parks with current systems will be incorporated into the State’s centralized platform, according to Osiyemi. According to him, the project will allow Lagos residents to travel with assurance, provide park managers more legitimacy, and allow Lagos State to establish new benchmarks for cutting-edge, effective transportation systems.

According to Hon. Sola Giwa, Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, the initiative’s goals are in line with the state’s ability to better plan for the movement of people into and out of Lagos while simultaneously ensuring the safety and protection of Lagosians.

Additionally, he promised that the parks’ established standard format would guarantee proper sanitation, efficient security, and the absence of drugs.

Interstate parks need to be improved and reorganized, according to Mr. Olawale Musa, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transportation. Assuring that any passenger information provided to the state will be kept private and not made public, he emphasized that the government is aware of data protection rules.

Mr. Olamide Afolabi, the Managing Director, Touch and Pay, (TAP) technologies, the organisation responsible for implementing the project, explained that agents at accredited parks will collect manifests and digitise them by verifying passengers’ phone numbers and National Identification Numbers (NIN).

Afolabi noted that information collected will be linked to the motor parks, the vehicle’s plate number, and the driver through a unique identification code, saying the information will be connected to the Ministry of Transportation’s database. He further mentioned that the initiative will also help the government phase out unregulated “mushroom” motor parks that have been posing threats to lives and property.

The National Union of Road Transport Workers’ (NURTW) State Secretary, Comrade Usman Teslim, commended the state government for this forward-thinking move. He emphasized how the Ministry, the consultancy firm, and the NURTW worked together to successfully make the switch from an analog to a digital platform possible.

Other Transportation Stakeholders and Members of the Transport Union are in attendance at the briefing.