Lagos residents in 2008 received news of a Bus Rapid Transit System. It was a plan in which luxury buses would provide better transportation services at cheaper rates compared to what existed at the time. Dedicated lanes on certain roads were created with the buses given exclusive permit to drive on this lane.
The buses soon arrived and were subsequently commissioned. A lot of publicity work was done to promote the availability of the buses, prevent regular buses from driving on the dedicated lanes, the routes available as well as the ticket costs. Lagosians soon began looking out for these buses and indeed they provided some immediate relief to the teeming population.
Lagos has forever remained plagued by traffic jams. A trip that should ordinarily take 30 to 40 minutes usually becomes an endurance test running into 4 hours at times. On some occasion, people leave their cars, seat at road side bars to wait out the traffic while commuters have often left commercial buses and continued their journeys on foot. The BRT promised succour in that its buses had an exclusive lane on some routes and as such would drive on regardless of the traffic on the other lanes.
Inside of these long buses were very spacious and comfortable chairs. They were also very neat, some of them provided television sets and carried an important notice or warning: no sales or preaching, two very constant practices that had made bus trips in Lagos a mixed experience.
It has been argued before now that maintenance culture is absent in Nigeria. That is the summary of the BRT service in Lagos. A service initially greeted with predominantly positive reaction by commuters has turned out to be an ongoing painful experience on a daily basis. The buses began to break down on their own lanes resulting in other buses suffering long delays because another bus in front would not move. The good seats have all but worn out while the bodies of these vehicles now look worse than their ancestors: the famed moluwes
.
BRT buses initially had a ticket system that worked fairly enough. That too has become difficult to manage as more commuters began taking the buses. A lot of the buses have reverted to the proven practice of collecting the fares by on board conductors.
While the buses are have gotten dirtier, break down more frequently, have a failing ticket system with broken and smelly seats, Lagosians continue to endure so long as fares are cheaper and the buses are available. The buses would park for as long as an hour waiting to fill. Then again, it would fill half way and then get to another bus stop and wait as long as 40 minutes to fill up. The tickets palaver got worse and fights are now frequent between passengers and some ticket sales people. Moluwes would fill at parks and when they leave, they kept going.
Fela had sung suffering and smiling with 49 seating 99 standing about moluwe buses, he actually meant BRT buses. These buses upon being fully loaded continue to stop at every bus stop taking more passengers who desperate to get a bus endure the torture of standing their way home. The average BRT bus on busy routes are loaded with over 120 standing passengers and their drivers hurry to the next bus stop to pick more.
The sweat, strained and uncomfortable standing notwithstanding, these buses still wait to resolve ticket and change issues and then after the long struggle the vehicle breaks down in the middle of the road where it becomes impossible to get alternative routes or a refund. Despite the prohibition, sales and solicitations have begun in the buses and even political campaigns.
The operators of the service and the Lagos state government need to urgently look into these issues and realise that there is more to providing service than purchasing buses. The service is simply put defeating its original objective or providing affordable transportation as the costs of taking a BRT bus to the office or home outweighs any benefits these days. Some routes actually have the same rates as regular buses.
More buses should be made available to routes where there is demand for them. On some occasion there would be lines of people waiting to get a bus ride for hours and the bus never comes. The dedicated lanes although a good idea has failed and should be scrapped. The vehicles need constant body work while the interiors should be cleaned and maintained better. If Lagos truly is desirous of the status it seeks: a mega city, a centre of excellence, then this service must be fixed.
Eko o ni baje oh.
The buses soon arrived and were subsequently commissioned. A lot of publicity work was done to promote the availability of the buses, prevent regular buses from driving on the dedicated lanes, the routes available as well as the ticket costs. Lagosians soon began looking out for these buses and indeed they provided some immediate relief to the teeming population.
Lagos has forever remained plagued by traffic jams. A trip that should ordinarily take 30 to 40 minutes usually becomes an endurance test running into 4 hours at times. On some occasion, people leave their cars, seat at road side bars to wait out the traffic while commuters have often left commercial buses and continued their journeys on foot. The BRT promised succour in that its buses had an exclusive lane on some routes and as such would drive on regardless of the traffic on the other lanes.
Inside of these long buses were very spacious and comfortable chairs. They were also very neat, some of them provided television sets and carried an important notice or warning: no sales or preaching, two very constant practices that had made bus trips in Lagos a mixed experience.
It has been argued before now that maintenance culture is absent in Nigeria. That is the summary of the BRT service in Lagos. A service initially greeted with predominantly positive reaction by commuters has turned out to be an ongoing painful experience on a daily basis. The buses began to break down on their own lanes resulting in other buses suffering long delays because another bus in front would not move. The good seats have all but worn out while the bodies of these vehicles now look worse than their ancestors: the famed moluwes
.
BRT buses initially had a ticket system that worked fairly enough. That too has become difficult to manage as more commuters began taking the buses. A lot of the buses have reverted to the proven practice of collecting the fares by on board conductors.
While the buses are have gotten dirtier, break down more frequently, have a failing ticket system with broken and smelly seats, Lagosians continue to endure so long as fares are cheaper and the buses are available. The buses would park for as long as an hour waiting to fill. Then again, it would fill half way and then get to another bus stop and wait as long as 40 minutes to fill up. The tickets palaver got worse and fights are now frequent between passengers and some ticket sales people. Moluwes would fill at parks and when they leave, they kept going.
Fela had sung suffering and smiling with 49 seating 99 standing about moluwe buses, he actually meant BRT buses. These buses upon being fully loaded continue to stop at every bus stop taking more passengers who desperate to get a bus endure the torture of standing their way home. The average BRT bus on busy routes are loaded with over 120 standing passengers and their drivers hurry to the next bus stop to pick more.
The sweat, strained and uncomfortable standing notwithstanding, these buses still wait to resolve ticket and change issues and then after the long struggle the vehicle breaks down in the middle of the road where it becomes impossible to get alternative routes or a refund. Despite the prohibition, sales and solicitations have begun in the buses and even political campaigns.
The operators of the service and the Lagos state government need to urgently look into these issues and realise that there is more to providing service than purchasing buses. The service is simply put defeating its original objective or providing affordable transportation as the costs of taking a BRT bus to the office or home outweighs any benefits these days. Some routes actually have the same rates as regular buses.
More buses should be made available to routes where there is demand for them. On some occasion there would be lines of people waiting to get a bus ride for hours and the bus never comes. The dedicated lanes although a good idea has failed and should be scrapped. The vehicles need constant body work while the interiors should be cleaned and maintained better. If Lagos truly is desirous of the status it seeks: a mega city, a centre of excellence, then this service must be fixed.
Eko o ni baje oh.
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