OBus, the bus-hailing service of OPay Nigeria has been temporarily suspended due to the activities of the Lagos Branch of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and area boys.
The bus-hailing service which was launched barely three months ago was beginning to gain some traction after it added more routes. However, it appears the business model was unsustainable coupled with the unpleasant actions of the area boys, which somewhat hampered the smooth running of OBus.
According to several reports, OPay made efforts to cushion the impact of the activities of the area boys on its bus-hailing business by assigning a police officer to a bus but couldn’t bear such cost implications.
Beyond security maintenance, OBus also spends a lot in the process of bus procurement, maintenance, and staff recruitment.
Although OPay is yet to officially confirm the suspension, a Twitter user who tweeted OPay via @getoride) complaining about his inability to book a bus ride and they replied: “Kindly be informed that OBus services have been suspended for now. Not to worry, hurry! book a ride with ORide to enjoy an amazing discount.”
https://twitter.com/getoride/status/1195326001150078976?s=19
Being forced to shut down business by the area boys and NURTW is not good for Lagos which prides itself as the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria and aims to become the choice destination for investors in Africa.
For now, no definite date has been set for the return of OBus.
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