The transportation system, especially road transportation, which accounts for over 80 per cent of mobility in the state, is critical and necessary to keep Lagos on the right track and achieve the megacity dream.
While the state government has repeatedly noted that tricycles and commercial bike riders are not part of the Greater Lagos dream, old and rickety vehicles without sideview or side mirrors, brake lights, or doors remain a constant feature on the roads.
In 2008, the Lagos Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system was launched by the then-governor, Babajide Raji Fashola. With the approval of Akinwunmi Ambode, who succeeded him, the scheme became more popular.
In 2021, the current Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, unveiled 500 mini buses for intra-city transportation.
The 500 shuttle buses, known as First and Last Mile (FLM), were the first phase of the planned 5,000 mini buses aimed at boosting the transportation system in Lagos.
Another aim of the buses was to get rid of commercial mini-buses, which were being used by ‘one-chance’ operators and kidnappers in the state. But within two years, the buses have almost disappeared from the roads, while those operating are in bad shape.
The state government had repeatedly said that the operations of Danfo drivers are not befitting of the megacity aspiration of Lagos and vowed to phase out the commercial buses. Sadly, state-owned bus projects are inadequate to cater to the transport needs of over 20 million people living in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic nerve.
The Lagos State Government equally promised to phase out rickety buses in 2021, but little effort was made to achieve the target.
The news of phasing out Danfo came to some as an exciting move that would see the yellow buses out of circulation, the same way the erstwhile Bolekaja lorries and the popular Molues, which were used in the 60s and early 2000s, respectively, were removed.
The announcement did not convince some who shared their disbelief in the fact that the Lagos State Government had yet to make a concrete plan to achieve the plan.
The then Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, said the yellow buses would be replaced by blue buses. He explained that the new blue buses were more conducive for a megacity like Lagos, according to its transportation master plan. But the promise has not been kept.
Have you ever boarded the white-painted buses plying Oshodi-Ajah or those going to Eko from the Lawanson area or Oshodi-Isale to Ikotun or CMS to Ajah? It is either you alight with bruises, get injured while boarding or leave the bus with torn clothes. When you are lucky to leave without any of these, you may not get away without some offensive smell or stain for the rest of your journey.
The majority of the drivers never clean the seats or replace the upholstery. Where the covers are removed by street urchins as punishment to drivers for defaulting on their ‘dues’, they are never replaced.
Apart from the rickety nature of commercial buses in the state, many buses plying the roads are with incomplete or no headlamps at all.
Responding to the challenges that many said are unbefitting of the status of Lagos, Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotosho, said: “When the policy was announced, there was no deadline. It is not everything the government is doing that is being announced. A lot is going on in the Lekki axis in terms of transportation, so the government will do what it promised.
“Lagos is getting bigger, and it will be difficult to see all of the government introduce one million buses today. Transportation is not about the government alone. New buses are coming. We are expecting about 2000 CNG buses to be introduced this year, and some are on a test run and are doing well. Oando and the state government partner on some.”
On rickety buses and those without headlamps, he said: “We need to go out and look for beautiful things in Lagos. No more Molue in Lagos.”
