THE management of the Lagos Bus Services Limited (LBSL) has re-assured residents of the state of its mandate of providing smart and sustainable bus transportation solutions that will meet their needs in 2021.
Mr Idowu Oguntona, the Managing Director of LBSL, gave the assurance during an End-Of-The-Year stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos on Monday.
Oguntona, however, said that the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic and the #EndSARS protests dealt a great blow to the operations of the company this year.
He said that the company had re-strategised to put the unfortunate incident behind it and work toward the delivery of world class transportation services in the coming year.
The managing director added that the management of the transportation outfit had also concluded plans to provide a more conducive environment for its personnel.
According to him, the management will maintain organisational standards that will ensure staff are free to perform their duties without fear of assault.
He said: “It is our plan and resolve that in 2021, we will do a lot better; the pandemic came to us as a surprise and affected all our plans.This included our financial projections.
” But by the resilience of all the stakeholders, the company remained active and it will continue to deliver on its mandate to Lagosians.
“We are going to ensure that our staff are free to perform their duties without feeling threatened by anyone whilst in the course of duty.
“The management has put in place mechanisms to ensure that all staff abide by the rules and regulations of the company so as to maintain sanity and avoid instances that can affect staff performance."
Oguntona said that despite the unprecedented situation brought about by the pandemic and the #EndSARS protests, it was among the few establishments still operating without any dramatic reduction in its workforce.
He added that all matters relating to staff welfare in the company had also been addressed.
Oguntona said it had been able to weather the storm of myriads of challenges it encountered during the year by increasing its fleet of buses from 150 to 215.
“One of our biggest successes is the fact that as a company, we are still standing whilst regrettably, so many companies had folded up or had to let go of many staff.
“LBSL is, however, still able to meet its obligations to Lagosians and its staff despite the daunting challenges.
“Another part of our success story is that the company is still thriving despite the wanton destruction of property and arson during the #EndSARS protest.
“Unfortunately, Lagos State was badly hit by the #EndSARS protests that turned violent; as a company, we lost 23 buses which amounted to about 10 per cent of our total fleet.
“Despite that, however, we are still thriving. I am proud to say that one of the attributes of our DNA as an organization is resilience,” he said.
Oguntona also used the opportunity to advise members of staff of LBSL, especially the drivers, to guard against engaging in acts that might be detrimental to the success of the company.
(NAN)
