No more cash on danfo: Lagos signs deal to switch bus fares to digital payments

• Lagos has signed a new deal with NURTW and RTEAN to gradually move danfo fares from cash to digital payments.

• The government says the move will make fares more transparent and reduce revenue leakages.

• The cashless system will be introduced gradually, with no exact date announced yet.

Lagos danfo riders may soon have to pay their fares digitally, as part of a new agreement signed between the Lagos State Government and the two major unions controlling the state's yellow buses.

The Lagos State Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Wednesday with the Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), aimed at bringing danfo operations under a more structured, regulated system.

Under the new plan, cash payments to conductors will gradually be phased out in favour of a fully digital payment system. The government says the move is designed to make fares more transparent, reduce revenue leakages, and simplify how passengers pay for their trips, though no exact date has been given for when digital-only payment will begin.

The agreement is part of a wider programme known as the Lagos State Bus Industry Transition Programme, being implemented by LAMATA, which is designed to bring danfo operators into a more organised transport network without pushing them out of the sector they have run for decades.

Speaking at the signing, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Olawale Musa, described the agreement as "a new beginning for public transport in Lagos State," saying it reflects a shared commitment between the government and transport operators to reshape how the city moves.

Beyond the digital fare shift, the agreement also introduces a franchise-based system for danfo operators, starting with four routes currently under construction: Iju-Ishaga-Abule Egba, Ketu-Alapere-Akanimodo, Iyana-Iba-Igando-Iyana-Ipaja, and Ojuelegba-Lawanson-Cele.

Under this system, danfo operators will gradually move from informal, individually run routes into a more standardised structure, while remaining under the management of their unions.

LAMATA's Managing Director, Abimbola Akinajo, said the deal followed more than two years of negotiations between government officials and the unions, describing it as "a verifiable example of a handshake between government and the unions."

She said the goal was to ensure transport workers become partners in the reform rather than casualties of it, adding, "Formalisation should not be construed as strangulation."

The agreement was signed on behalf of RTEAN by its Lagos State Chairman, Samson Adepeju, and Secretary, Bolaji Kawojue, while NURTW was represented by its state Chairman, Mustapha Adekunle, and Secretary, Usman Teslim.

For now, danfo commuters can expect the current cash-based system to remain in place as the transition begins, with the shift to digital payments expected to roll out gradually alongside the new franchise routes.

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