The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) has announced that commuters who pay transport fares with cash on its regulated services will face penalties from August 1 as the agency intensifies enforcement of its cashless payment policy.
The decision was unveiled during a LAMATA X Space discussion held on Tuesday with transport operators, mobility experts and other stakeholders, as part of efforts to strengthen compliance with the state’s electronic fare collection system.
Under the policy, passengers are required to pay fares exclusively with the Cowry Card, the approved electronic payment method for LAMATA-regulated public transport services.
Speaking during the session, LAMATA’s Head of Legal Department, Idris Akinola, said both commuters who offer cash and transport workers who accept it could be prosecuted under existing Lagos State laws.
According to him, the legal framework guiding the agency makes the use of the Cowry Card mandatory, while unauthorised cash transactions on regulated services are treated as offences.
Akinola explained that offering and accepting cash in place of the approved payment system amounts to an unauthorised transaction under the law, adding that offenders, if convicted, could face prison terms of up to seven years.
He urged transport operators to recruit credible drivers and conductors, conduct regular internal checks to ensure compliance, and cooperate with LAMATA’s enforcement teams carrying out random inspections on buses.
To support enforcement, LAMATA also encouraged commuters to report any driver or conductor demanding cash through the agency’s official customer service channels, including its email address and dedicated telephone lines.
Managing Director of Teejay Motors, Adekunle Tajudeen, said the company had already trained its drivers and boarding officers ahead of the implementation date.
He said staff members had been directed not to accept cash payments under any circumstances and to insist that passengers pay with the Cowry Card.
Tajudeen disclosed that some of the company’s drivers had previously been arrested and imprisoned for collecting cash fares, stressing that passengers often encouraged the practice by offering cash instead of using electronic payment.
He maintained that extending enforcement to commuters would discourage such behaviour and improve compliance across the transport network.
To minimise disruptions, he said the company had expanded its fleet and recruited additional drivers so that any staff removed for violating the policy would not affect service delivery.
Also speaking, public transport and urban mobility expert Adepoju Fawokon said enforcing the regulation only against drivers had proved ineffective because every cash transaction involved both the passenger and the transport worker.
He explained that LAMATA’s objective was to curb revenue leakage, improve accountability and safeguard the long-term sustainability of the regulated public transport system, rather than simply punish commuters.
Meanwhile, Managing Director of Touch and Pay Technologies, Olamide Afolabi, acknowledged complaints from some passengers over incorrect amounts being loaded onto their Cowry Cards by agents.
To address the issue, Afolabi said the company had introduced new digital tools, including the Carry Hub platform and a mobile application that enables users to monitor recent top-ups and verify their card balances, helping to reduce disputes and improve transparency.
