Urban Transport in the OIC Megacities
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number of households. In looking at the comparison of car ownership and use, it appears that more
people use cars than own them, presumably because households share use of vehicles for commuting.
Although car ownership level in Lagos is still low, the absolute number of cars is growing at a rapid
annual rate (more than 5%) which makes the capacity of the current arterial system, which was built
more than a decade ago, cannot deal with the high demand which is still increasing rapidly.
5.1.4.2. Public transport
The current public transport in Lagos consists of:
- Danfo (minibuses), which are mostly old, and owned and operated by single operators. This
kind of highly atomized and un-integrated system is very inefficient in terms of operating
costs and results in poor service with long travel time and relatively expensive trips;
- Commuter rail service, that serves only 1% of the commuters in Lagos;
- A BRT corridor, which has 22 km route and is operated with 220 buses, is a key component to
address transportation and other infrastructural problems in Lagos. BRT Lagos has provided
Lagosians access to a decent, more comfortable bus transport system that guarantees faster
travel time.
- Okada (motor cycle taxi), a commercial motorcycle used as a vehicle for hire.
In response to the enormous transport challenges in Lagos, the Lagos State Government created the
Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), which is responsible for the formulation,
coordination and implementation of urban transport policies and programmes. LAMATA has
developed a Strategic Transport Master Plan that specifies the infrastructure details of the modal
routes to address the urban transport challenges in Lagos. It is planned that in 2030 Lagos will have
the following public transport network:
- Lagos Urban Rail Network
A network of urban rail-based systems covering six light rail and one monorail mass transit
corridors of high commuter traffic demand within and beyond the LMA extending to border
areas. It is currently being constructed and Transit Oriented Development (TOD) concept will
be integrated around the stations to improve connections to activity areas. The Blue Line will
be operational in 2016.
BRT network
The current BRT corridor is planned to be extended with eight different corridors within the
metropolis.
- Water transportation
Six corridors have been identified and two of them have already been opened with passenger
daily service. The development of water transportation has helped integrate transportation
modes in the city and brought relief to neighbourhoods that line the water corridors, as well
as helping to ease overall traffic congestion. It has also opened up new avenues of investment
and employment opportunities.
- Cable car
A 12.85 km network of cable cars serving the metropolis of Lagos and connecting Lagos Island
with both the mainland and Victoria Island, which is not directly served by the mass transit
networks. The project is being planned and expected to start operations in 2015. This project
will act to relieve pressure on the traffic system, alleviating congestion and reducing pollution.
5.1.4.3. Non-Motorized transport
In 2013, walk trips accounted for 40% of total trips in LMA. However, infrastructure and facilities for
non-motorized transport (NMT) are very limited due to the problem of road capacity and land use
around most cities points. As a result, the level of interaction between pedestrians and motorists is