Pascal Oparada
Bike ride-hailing apps may soon resume operations in Lagos as talks are said to be ongoing between the Lagos State Government and the operators.
Feelers reaching the reporter said the government has started engaging with operators of the ride-hailing bikes and that they are in an advanced stage.
In February this year, the Lagos State Government banned operations of ride-hailing bikes popularly called OPay in a move which divided opinions concerning the economic implications of such a ban.
The ban included regular Okada riders and tricycle operators in the state.
According to sources, several factors are responsible for the resumption of talks between the operators and the government.
The loss of revenue by the state government may be one of the driving forces.
A source in the Lagos Ministry of transportation, who wanted anonymity said the parties have always engaged with each other.
“We never stopped talking, we never stopped engaging even before the ban,” the source said.
Another reason given is that the operators are largely in compliance with regulations regarding bike operations in the state.
The approved engine capacity by Lagos State is about 200cc which the operators have also complied with including not plying the highways.
Also, the tracking device in each machine allows the bikes to be monitored by their companies, meaning they could be easily apprehended should they violate traffic or any government directives.
Also, there are allegations that the state wanted to introduce a N25 million license fee to the operators.
The CEO and co-founder of MAX, Adetayo Bamiduro stated in a radio programme that a government official suggested the license fee for Ride-hailing operators, which many of them frowned at.
Although Country Manager of OPay (parent company of ORide), Iniabasi Akpan said last year that “Nothing has been finalised; discussions are ongoing about it. So definitely, there’s going to be a license fee.”
