Lagos  Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu,has  rolled out the first batch of 1,000 brand-new GAC-branded automobiles in the state.

Codenamed: “Lagos Ride”,the scheme was launched in order to ensure the take-off of safe, comfortable and modernised taxi scheme in the state.

The initiative is a partnership between Lagos State-owned IBILE Holding Limited and CIG Motors Company Limited, with the objective to provide clean and reliable means of taxi movement across the metropolis at affordable cost, using brand-new vehicles.

According to the state government,operators are required to make about N1.9 million down payment, of which the sum covers the 20 per cent equity of cost of vehicle, registration and insurance.

 Each car being used in the scheme,the government said, comes with technology-enabled security features that monitor every journey undertaken.

Launching the scheme, Sanwo-Olu said the state had moved another step forward in its drive to develop an efficient transportation model in tune with modernity and comfort.

The governor said the aim was not to run existing hailing ride operators out of the business, but to offer safer alternatives and clear the roads of rickety cars being used for taxi business.

The scheme, he said, will provide opportunities to the operators to become owners of the vehicles within a three to four years period.

He added: “The need to provide better, dignifying and more rewarding means of transportation and livelihood for unemployed and underemployed population gave birth to the new ‘Lagos State Taxi Scheme’, which will be operated on a lease-to-own basis. Under this arrangement, a beneficiary will be provided a brand-new car which will become the driver’s property after completion of the payment of the vehicle’s subsidised cost.

 “This taxi scheme will complement the various bus services which are making significant impact in the lives of our people; the water transport service, which is recording unprecedented patronage, as well as the Blue and Red Line Rail services which are on course to commence commercial operations between the last quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2023.”

To improve riders’ and passengers’ security, Sanwo-Olu said a full security gadget, including a 360 dashboard camera that will give 24-hour audio-visual feeds to the control centre, had been pre-installed on each car deployed for the scheme.

He added that each car came with a physical panic button that could be used by anyone on board in case of assault or emergency. The panic button, the Governor said, is also on the mobile application and is connected to the Control and Command Centre.

Sanwo-Olu disclosed that the automobile assembly plant being set up in Lagos – another component of the partnership between CIG Motors’ and the State Government – stood at 60 per cent completion, with anticipated launch and start of operations expected in September.

He said: “What we are witnessing today is that Lagos is moving away from the era of rickety kabu kabu to brand-new, comfortable and safe transport systems. The multiplier effect of this singular initiative on job creation, youth employment and economic growth and development in the State cannot be overstated.”

Commissioners for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladehinde, described the scheme as “another milestone achievement” by the State Government, noting that the initiative had joined an array of other innovative solutions initiated in the transport sector, which were targeted at redefining public transportation.

To make the rides affordable, the Commissioner said the technology on which the scheme is operated had made ride-sharing possible for passengers, who would agree to share ride and share transit costs.

Chairman of CIG Motors in Nigeria, Diana Chang, said the roadmap for the urbanisation of the transportation system in Lagos started in November 2019 when the Governor and members of his cabinet visited the Republic of China for bilateral partnership. The launch, she said, is the glorious end of the partnership sealed with Chinese investors.

 “We are using this partnership to promote a Greater Lagos where opportunities abound for citizens of the State, while creating a win-win model for all stakeholders,” she said.

Managing Director of IBILE Holding, Abiodun Amokomowo, said over 5,700 drivers had downloaded the driver’s mobile apps as of last Tuesday, out of which 1,786 drivers submitted applications.