Now it’s pleasure ride on Mile 12-Ikorodu Road

Commuters plead for reduced fares
COMMUTERS that ply the Ikorodu Mile 12 axis of Lagos metropolis have continued to express happiness to the government for providing the BRT service. In a chat with The Guardian at Mile 12 area, a commuter said: “I love what the government has done. The buses are very comfortable. I also love the air conditioner. I have never missed it since it was launched.”

Lagos State Governor, Akinwumi Ambode, recently commissioned the Mile 12- Ikorodu BRT route. Dignitaries from all walks of life were present to grace the occasion. All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola were among the notable dignitaries present at the occasion.

The first BRT system was launched in March 2008 along the Mile 12 CMS corridor. The 22km BRT has moved over 250 million passengers in the last seven year. However, a commuter at Agric Bus Stop urged the government to reduce the fare.

According to him, “from Agric Bus Stop to CMS is N200.To me, it is expensive. I want the government to reduce the fare.” Another commuter, however noted that the BRT lanes are good, adding that the time spent travelling from Ikorodu to Mile 12 has reduced but however said: “I still want the drivers of the buses to increase their speed. It seems they have been told to travel within a particular speed limit.”

Ambode described the project as a milestone in public transportation system. He said the BRT was part of the strategies to modernise the public transport system as in major cities around the world. “It is intended to provide efficient service that will encourage patronage by the middle class, thereby reducing the number of private vehicles on our roads. Today, the BRT system as to a large extent lived up to that expectation.
“The extension being commissioned today is an improvement on the shortcomings noticed on the Mile 12 to CMS corridor. This upgraded system known as the BRT classic with the BRT lanes running in the median will provide better services in all ramifications.

Transportation Commissioner Dayo Mobereola said 434 new air-conditioned buses would provide efficient, safe, reliable and cheap transportation means to residents. He said with the new corridor, there would be a drastic reduction in travel time, cutting the current two and a half hours travel time between CMS and Ikorodu to about 45 minutes.

The Guardian, however, gathered that motorists still experience slight traffic gridlock on the route. For instance between Mile 12 and Owode Onirin in the evening, motorists usually experience traffic congestion in the area. Investigation also revealed that the roads left for commercial motorists are too narrow.

A commuter who spoke with The Guardian said the company that constructed the road did a commendable job but noted that the routes for commercial motorists should have been extended beyond two lanes.

According to him, the lanes should have been about four or five.