Cash Fares on Lagos BRT Will Land Commuters in Court from August, LAMATA Warns
Lagos commuters who hand over cash for bus rides on regulated routes will be arrested and prosecuted starting 1 August 2026, as the state transport authority turns its cashless crackdown on passengers for the first time.
The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) announced the shift on Monday through spokesperson Kolawole Ojelabi. Until now, enforcement targeted only drivers and ground staff caught pocketing cash. The new directive makes clear that passengers who knowingly pay outside the electronic system share the blame—and the legal risk.
LAMATA labelled cash fare collection an economic offence against the state, saying it siphons money from operators, sabotages service delivery and threatens the viability of the entire regulated bus network. Drivers and touts caught previously have been prosecuted and jailed, the authority said, and from August that net will widen.
Commuters were told to board only with the Cowry Card, available for purchase at designated bus stops and at Blue Line and Red Line train stations. LAMATA also asked passengers to flag any crew soliciting cash through its official complaints email and hotline.
The policy escalation follows relentless pressure from bus operators, who say cash fare leakages are bleeding them dry. Revenue that vanishes outside the electronic system makes it difficult to buy spare parts, keep up with vehicle maintenance or pay staff on time. Grounded buses, the authority noted, are the direct result.
“Every naira lost to cash fares is a naira not spent on getting a bus back on the road,” LAMATA said, framing fare protection as the lifeline for reliable public transport.
The clampdown arrives months after the state government approved a 13 percent fare increase for BRT and Bus Reform Initiative services on 2 March 2026. That hike followed operator appeals tied to rising costs for maintenance, spare parts, salaries and cleaner bus investments. Lagos has tinkered with fares repeatedly: an 18 percent jump in February 2025, a 50 percent discount for three months after the fuel subsidy removal in late 2023, and a 25 percent discount that ran until 3 June 2024 with one brief interruption.
Despite the official policy, it has documented cash transactions thriving along several BRT corridors. On the Ikeja Bus Terminal–Ikorodu route, buses routinely stop just beyond the terminal gates to scoop up passengers paying roughly ₦500 in cash, well below the ₦680 Cowry Card fare. These extra riders are often forced to stand, packing vehicles dangerously during rush hour.
In the opposite direction, buses heading back to their depots have been seen picking up commuters on the Ikorodu-Maya stretch for around ₦400 cash, compared with the roughly ₦800 charged by regular yellow minibuses. These field reports confirm what LAMATA has long argued: an off-the-books fare system is thriving on its regulated fleet, draining revenue and undermining the electronic collection network built to sustain it.
The message from the transport authority is blunt: when enforcement begins 1 August, anyone caught paying cash is as liable as the person taking it.