Explainer: What does the Lagos state ₦800 levy to transporters mean, and how will it affect commuters?
On Tuesday, January 18, The Lagos state government announced that transporters, including commercial bus and taxi drivers, would from February 1 pay a daily levy of ₦800 described as a consolidated informal transport levy.
According to the Lagos state commissioner for finance, Rabiu Olowo, the levy would replace the ones accrued to local councils across the state, as well as revenue for Lagos Waste Management Authority (LASWA), Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) and Lagos State Inland Revenue Service (LIRS)
Transporters are expected to make the payment at the park when they start work for the day, after which they will be issued a payment confirmation card.
The new levy, which is expected to kick off from next month, is supposed to replace all other payments made at parks and bus stops across the state.
According to the state government, this would eliminate multiple taxations and reduce transporters’ pay to different bodies daily.
However, the National Union of Road Transport Workers and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) said the daily levy does not cover their tickets which commercial drivers have to purchase daily.
Before now, the NURTW has served as collection agents for local governments and the state. Every morning, bus drivers are issued a minimum of 4 tickets of varying amounts to pay for. Some include NURTW levy, LAWMA ticket, local government payment, etc. This new development means that from February 1, all Lagos state transportation levies will fall under the umbrella of the consolidated ₦800 levy.
This may, however, lead to an increase in the cost of transportation according to a bus owner whose vehicle plies the Iyana Ipaja to the Sango axis. Isiak Olatunji told Neusroom that while it sounds like a good idea to eliminate multiple levies, the presence of NURTW collectors means the collective levies will be higher in the long run and will force them to increase the cost of transportation.
He said: “My drivers pay as high as ₦7000 on levies daily. There are even some NURTW levies that don’t have receipts. There are some that drivers pay at bus stops, and there are some we have to pay in the morning and afternoon. NURTW agents even print some tickets that their executives are unaware of, and if you don’t pay it, you won’t be allowed to carry passengers. We even pay for ‘load’ each time it is our turn to take passengers.
“While the daily payment of ₦800 by the state government is a good thing, they would do better by completely eradicating NURTW. That is the only way we can have standardised payment. I won’t mind paying ₦2,000 daily to the government if that is all I have to pay in a day. However, so many tickets and payments do not have receipts. Some payments will only earn you a market on your bus. Why can’t the government eliminate NURTW and also include their levy in the consolidated one so they can remit to NURTW and we won’t have to make any separate payments to them?
“I am sure we will still pay for load, security, park, maintenance, bus stop and so on to NURTW.”
An NURTW collector stationed in the Dopemu area of Lagos, who gave his name simply as Toheeb, told Neusroom that they have not been informed yet of the new development and thus still selling all tickets to commercial drivers.
“When we are informed, we will start to do that, but for now, we are still in charge of the bus parks.”
Neusroom reached out to the media aide of Musiliu Akinsanya, the chairman of the Lagos state chapter of the NURTW, for comment but he did not pick up or respond to messages.
This is not Lagos state’s first effort at addressing transportation issues in the state. In 2020, the state government banned Okada riders and tricycle operators in six local government areas while also restricting their movement in several other places. The ban also affected bike-hailing startups like OPay and Gokada as they were forced to close their operation in the case of the former or convert to delivery service in the case of the latter. The ban, which came into effect on February 1, 2020, led to commuters being stranded due to inadequate transportation to their destinations. In some cases, commuters had to walk long distances to get to their destinations or rely on private vehicles to help move around the city. Despite the provision of buses by the state government, it did little to solve the problem. It also led to increased transport fares due to the high demand. It is yet to be seen if this new February 1 directive would also lead to increased fare as predicted by motorists.
