TheCable

Hakeem Fahm, Lagos commissioner for science and technology, says the state will leverage technology to digitise bus rapid transit (BRT) tickets.

The commissioner disclosed this on Wednesday, while speaking at 2021 Lagos ‘Ehingbeti’ Economic Summit.

“On the transportation, there is going to be a consolidation whereby you have one ticket just like the metro flash pass in Washington DC or the one in UK. So, everything will be loaded and you will be able to use it, but it takes planning and coordination,” he said.

“We will work on it and make sure we deliver a solution because it is important to make life easier for our people.

“With technology, they will be able to load their cards at the convenience of their homes or a central point instead of having to carry cash everywhere.

“Sooner, we will have a metro rail system. All these will have to be coordinated from a single point and that’s what the state intends to do.”

He noted that technology has been essential to the operations of the state government since the coronavirus outbreak.

According to him, the state is committed to encouraging innovation, research and citizen participation in developing technology.

He added that Lagos state awarded science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) grants in 2020.

“As a state, we are working on initiatives to provide access to locally generated content. We are working with Microsoft on the open source initiative,” he said.

“There are so many resources available outside Nigeria that we need access to. So, we cannot limit ourselves to local content but it is very important that we continue to build local content.

“We build locally for global impact. That’s why as a state, we must provide an enabling environment to be able to participate in the world stage.”

Fahm emphasised the importance of investing in digital literacy and bringing citizens “up to speed”.