The Nation Newspaper

Category: Transportation

31 ships with petroleum products, food items to arrive Lagos

Thirty one ships laden with petroleum products, food items and other goods are expected to arrive Apapa and Tin-Can Island Ports in Lagos from April 6 to April 24.

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) stated this in its publication – `Shipping Position’, – a copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.

NPA explained that the expected ships contained buck wheat, empty containers, frozen fish, bulk sugar, general cargoes, containers, steel products, diesel and petrol.

The document noted that a ship had arrived the port, waiting to berth with aviation fuel.

NAN reports that 16 other ships are at the ports discharging general cargoes, wheat, ethanol, aviation fuel, crude palm oil, containers and petrol.

April 6, 2016
Make petrol available, NURTW urges FG

The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Niger on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to make petrol available at the approved rate.

The NURTW Chairman in the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Sarki, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna.

He said availability of petrol at official rate would enable the union members to recoup their investment and review the current transport fares in the state.

NAN reports that the state chapter of the union recently increased transport fares owing to non availability of fuel.

The agency also reports that widespread scarcity had resulted in the sale of fuel at between N190 and N200 per litre at the black market.

“We want the Federal Government to make fuel available at the approved price of N86 per litre to enable us revert to the old transport fares because passengers are complaining.

“The current economic hardship is already having its negative effect on passengers then all of a sudden increase in transport fares.

“So it has not been easy with our passengers and on our own side, we don’t buy only fuel to keep our vehicles going but we have to maintain them,’’ he said.

He explained that the hike in transport fares had reduced the number of commuters per day.

The union chairman said that transport fare from Minna to Kontagora, which used to be N900 was now N1,100 while Minna to Sokoto was now N3,500 as against N3, 000.

Also speaking, Mrs Grace Ayuba, a fish seller in Shiroro, told NAN that she had reduced her shuttles to Minna for business from three to two times a week.

She said the scarcity of fuel was biting hard while the price of fish had gone up, with customers complaining.

Mr Abdullahi Isah, the Controller of the Department of Petroleum Resources in the state, told NAN that the fuel situation would normalise next week.

“These queues you are seeing across the country will disappear because government is already doing something about it.

“The Federal Government is doing something that I will not want to disclose now to ensure enough fuel supply in the country.
“Hopefully by next week, there will be enough fuel supply in the country,’’ he said.

Isah said that Niger, which was supposed to get 30 trucks of PMS per day, gets only two.

“What we are doing right now in Niger state is to make sure that the small quantity available is not diverted but sold to the people at N86 per litre.

“We need 30 trucks of PMS in the state to ensure enough supply but you can see that we have just two which is inadequate,’’ he said.

April 5, 2016
Gridlock: LAMATA goes for bicycle, walking option

Lagos traffic, many say, is stressful. To address the traffic hassle, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) is pushing for Non-Motorised Transportation (NMT), such as cycling and walking. How feasible is NMT in Lagos? Some experts say it is a pipe dream. But LAMATA argues that NMT will give the city a world class transportation system. Adeyinka Aderibigbe writes.

To the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) Acting Managing Director Mr Iyiola Adegboye, non-motorised transportation is the way to address traffic congestion in the city.

According to Adegboye, motorised transportation is one of the lead causes of air pollution, carbon emission, congestion and deaths on the road.

He said LAMATA is determined to champion the change for a cleaner and healthier form of transportation.

Road transportation, according to him, accounts for 22 per cent of global carbon-dioxide emission and 1.3 million deaths yearly, with 50 million injured.

At a workshop jointly organised by LAMATA and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in Lagos, Adegboye said the damage done by motorised transportation through emission and pollution must be checked to preserve the environment and save the future.

Many countries, he said, have embraced NMT, like cycling and walking, noting that in the past trekking was the in thing among the old generation.

He listed the advantages of NMT to include reduction in road crashes, energy conservation and road cost saving.

Others are reduced risk of mortality, improvement in value of time, reduction in congestion, and mitigation of climate change.

He said there was the need to tap into the huge benefits and direct attention towards promoting the mode, providing the infrastructure and promoting their use.

Adegboye said: “The authority has resolved to begin to articulate strategies for the take-off of trekking and cycling as new components of the state’s Strategic Transportation Master Plan and incorporate these in the state’s traffic laws. The Authority shall also provide separate infrastructure where appropriate for the use of cyclists, or those trekking; incorporate standards of provision for cyclists and pedestrians in new road infrastructure design and incorporate responsibilities to provide for non-motorised transport in road fund statutes and procedures.”

Return of the old

Indeed, in the 60s up to the late 70s, non-motorised mode of transportation was planned into the transportation architecture of Nigeria. Many of the emerging urban centres had road networks where a lane was dedicated to cyclists in government’s determination to promote the non-motorised transportation as a cardinal pillar of transportation infrastructure, especially for short distances.

In Lagos and the federal capital, a handful of roads are designed to accommodate bicycle lanes and walkways. The Eko Bridge and Carter Bridge for instance had these features.

Those days, a cyclist, riding with relish on the roads and especially on these bridges were a common sight. But the discovery of crude oil and attendant affluence had since erased that, as the emerging middle class choose to celebrate their new found status with new motor cars.

The pressure to accommodate the increase in the volume of vehicles plying the roads, saw to the jettisoning of the bicycle lane features which were soon totally abolished across many of the nation’s road network. This was the case until two years ago when former Governor Babatunde Fashola, through the supervision of LAMATA, piloted their re-introduction through two roads – in Surulere and (Wempco Road, Agidingbi), Ikeja, where bicycle lanes were specifically created as an added feature of the road rehabilitation contract.

Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, (as he then was), stated that all new road projects to be awarded in the state would have a dedicated lane for bicycle riders, as part of the commitment of the government to igniting a bicycle riding revolution among Lagosians.

For Fashola, the bane of bicycle riding was the lack of infrastructure, and pledged that government would promote bike riding and trekking, especially on short distances, as part of measures to address air pollution, carbon emission and traffic congestion.

Not new

The ‘bicycle riding’ revolution as part of the bigger non-motorised transportation or ecomobility transportation initiative wasn’t exactly new.

Former Transportation Minister Chief Ojo Maduekwe, had championed the revolution as far back as 2000. As Minister for Transportation, Maduekwe became the strongest advocate for bicycle riding to promote healthier population, and a cleaner environment. But the campaign soon fizzled out as Nigerians refused to buy into the initiative.

Facilitator of the workshop, UNEP’s Share the Road Global Programme Lead Consultant Mrs. Carly Koinange, said UNEP is pushing for a paradigm shift from car-oriented transportation to people-oriented transportation because the latter, is more efficient and environmentally sustainable means of making short trips.

According to her, UNEP is promoting environmentally friendly transportation because an increase in bicycling and walking would reduce country’s dependence on fuel and reduce premature deaths from traffic accidents each year.

With the global road motorisation which was about 1 billion excluding two wheelers, in 2010, hitting 1.6 billion by 2013 and peaking at 2.5 billion by 2050 and an attendant 0.7 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), lost time to traffic in the Unites States, it becomes imperative for the world to tinker with the transportation systems, Koinange said.

She said the search for new modes was behind Goal 11 of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) which focussed on making the cities safe, with key focus on the need to provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transportation system for all and the expansion of public transportation with special attention to the vulnerable- women, children and persons with disabilities.

She, therefore, challenged LAMATA to champion the cause of a change in eco-mobility which would seek to increase accessibility to modes of transportation that promotes cleaner, safer and friendlier environment.

Adegboye admitted that a lot would depend on how LAMATA applies itself to the challenges that make NMT a non issue in Lagos. Chief among these, the LAMATA chief said are; inconsistent and poor road design, lack of adequate and safe NMT infrastructure, scant consideration for vulnerable groups, such as children and the physically challenged, and lack of enforcement on existing infrastructure.

Other limiting factors are the non recognition of walking and cycling as priority investment areas by government, competition of other road users who see cyclists and pedestrians as nuisance, and the safety risk of walking or cycling in Nigeria.

These have resulted in inadequate policies regarding NMT, as well as poor implementation of NMT master plan because they are not considered as a way of dealing with increasing trend in motorised rates.

Adegboye lamented the absence of political will to champion NMT’s cause through the legislation of relevant laws, and lack of enforcement on existing NMT facilities.

All of these, he argued, had led to poor opinion of NMT as a modal choice by citizens and competition of other road users who see cyclists and pedestrians as a nuisance. He said to succeed; LAMATA must reduce the safety risk in walking and cycling.

According to him, LAMATA has come up with short, medium and long-term strategies aimed at turning Lagos into a walking and cycling megacity. These include taking an NMT audit, planning, designing and construction of safe and accessible infrastructure, stronger management of pedestrian bridges and crossing that would lead to an attitudinal change among Lagosians.

No NMT

But for experts, this is another wrong-headed initiative that may not achieve desired results. A road safety expert, Adetokunbo Thomas, said though the NMT was a good idea, it cannot work in Lagos, because it does not fit into the state’s present transportation modes.

He said: “Except you limit walking and cycling to intra community, there is no way it could serve the general interest of motorists.”

According to him, “In copying things from the West, some things do not just make sense and one of them is NMT. In developed societies, they have developed multimodal systems and so they can introduce road tax which makes it a wise option for people to patronise public transportation, the reverse is the case here. Here, attention is concentrated so much on one mode of transportation and the infrastructure is too poor and inadequate to accommodate NMT.”

Executive Director of Safety Without Borders Mr Patrick Adenusi said NMT may not work in this part because of our level of humidity.

According to him, Lagos is sunny and a man cycling on a short distance would have perspired so much that he might need to have a shower when he gets to his destination.

He said while it was true that the older generation used bicycles, “it must be pointed out that they never rode bicycles to social events. They only rode it to their farms.”

Adenusi said the risk element of adopting an NMT in a city like Lagos is high. Walking or cycling on Lagos roads is extremely risky because “most motorists are not trained to drive”. He wondered how many business executives of political appointees the agency would convince to ride a bicycle to their offices.

For Adenusi, most roads within the metropolis are no longer suitable for NMT because they have been demarcated for Bus Rapid Transit, adding that “if you have already dedicated a lane for BRT’s use, where will you give to the cyclists or pedestrians who you are encouraging to walk? Going ahead without dedicating an bicycle area would only breed confusion and make transportation more strenous”.

He said countries that had introduced NMT not only have suitable weather and not as humid as ours, they have also developed a seamless intermodal system of transportation that promotes trekking or cycling as the last mile transportation option.

He said: “NMT is a fantastic idea, but it is not what we need now. It can no longer work in our environment. The infrastructural requirement to re-integrate it now would be too high and I see this as another opportunity by the west to sell their bicycles to us. If we are still mopping up motorcycles because they are not in our transportation plan, why open ourselves up again as a dumping ground for bicycles? Would these people establish their manufacturing plants here, or would they just be traders interested in repatriating fortunes to their home countries?”

Adenusi said in assisting us tackle our crisis, UNEP should be fair to Africa by trying to study our challenges rather than pushing things down our throats.”

More of trains

Rather than promoting NMT which may seem right but non fitting into our environment, Adenusi canvassed stronger support for the development of a robust train infrastructure.

“What Lagos and Nigeria needed now is to have a rail network that works. If this happens, there would be a major drop in traffic congestion because people would have better, faster and more affordable option but more fundamental is that people may decide to live in the interlands and work in the urban centres.

“An improved train service would translate to a reduction in the number of vehicles on the road, whether passenger or cargo. Many would drop their vehicles and even move out of urban centres to the peripheries, yet retain their work.”

March 22, 2016
How to prevent road crashes

The death of Minister of State for Labour and Productivity James Ocholi (SAN), his wife and son in a road crash on Sunday, March 6, has re-ignited the debate on road safety. What should be the speed limit? Should public officers be exempted from the rule? ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE writes

Until March 6, James Elegbede, driver of the Minister of State for Labour, the late James Ocholi (SAN) was just like many others in his profession – unknown and unsung. But he grabbed the head line that fateful day after driving the Lexus Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), which somersaulted several times, killing the minister, his wife, Blessing and son Joshua.

Elegbede, the government said, may be prosecuted for over speeding and driving without licence.              According to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir David Lawal, he should be prosecuted for flouting the laws on speed limit and driving without a licence.

The death of Ocholi and the Commander of Training and Operations Department of the Nigerian Army, Maj-Gen Yasha’u Abubakar, in another accident, has underscored the need for safety

Federal Road Safety Corps Marshal Boboye Oyeyemi, believes the only way for the Corps’ continued relevance is to be more vigilant and assertive in its accident prevention strategies.

Briefing the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on its preliminary findings on Ocholi’s death, Oyeyemi urged President Muhammadu Buhari to champion     the enforcement of the seat belt law and the campaign against over speeding, by ensuring that motorists, especially commercial drivers, instal speed limiters in their vehicles.

But beyond calling for the acquisition of speed limiting devices, experts said the FRSC should set clear speed limits, acquire technology to detect the abuse of those limits and raise its organisational capacity to prevent motorists from wilfully committing suicide or killing others.

The agency should descend on politicians and top government officials fond of flouting the seat belt law. Besides over speeding and the forceful pulling of the brakes when the vehicle had a tyre blowout, the eviction of Ocholi and his son from the vehicle because of their non-use of seat belts, Oyeyemi said, reduced their chances of survival.

The FRSC chief said: “The ejection of the minister and his son, who occupied the rear seat, confirmed that their rear seat belts were not in use, while on the contrary, the driver and the orderly survived because the front seat belts were used”.

Many have been made to believe that passengers sitting at the rear can do without using the seat belts because the FRSC does not enforce their use.

During a visit to Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Mudasiru Obasa, the Acting Lagos Sector Commander of FRSC, Mr Michael Olapade, described the roads as the greatest killer, which are more dreaded than the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Lamenting the high rate of deaths arising from accidents, Olapade said; “It is worrisome that the lives of our youths are being lost daily. Many people talk of AIDS as the most deadly, FRSC does not believe this. When you talk of number of deaths, road accidents are higher than the number of lives lost to AIDS.”

Olapade, who said he was meeting with the lawmakers to see areas of more strategic partnership and support for the lead road safety agency, said; “We are ready for stronger partnership, we want to partner with all the stakeholders who are committed to saving lives on our roads.”

Causes of accidents

According to experts, major causes of accidents remain over speeding and distraction. They, therefore, counselled: put the phone down, turn off the radio, put your two hands on the steering wheel and be alert all the time for any infraction by the driver ahead of you.

“While on the road you must think that only you know how to drive and all others are ignorant of the rules of driving,but they are driving.

“Next watch out for how you overtake. Overtaking accounts for 90% of the road accidents. Do not go fast unless your vehicle is fit for it. Do not drive fast were children may cross the road. Do not drink and drive. Do not drive when you are depressed or in sorrow. Do not make last minute rush. Always remember the Golden Rule, Its better late than never. Go to airport or railway station half an hour before. Always keep the distance between you and the vehicle ahead of you. Do not make abrupt stop, and do not allow youngesters to drive.”

According to them, to drive safely, motorists must also internalise the following: Maintain your lane; never overtake from wrong side; maintain the prescribed speed limit, and give signals well before turning.

Also, always use helmet, while driving a two wheeler, give adequate warning to the vehicle ahead of you before you ovetake; be careful of bumps and cavities on the road, use back view mirrors, keep your brakes in smooth working condition and avoid cell phones while driving.

Writing on the issue last week, President Goodluck Jonathan’s former spokesman Dr Reuben Abati had said: “there must be a vigorous campaign launched at all levels by the FRSC, civil society groups and other agencies to remind everyone that it is better to be a big man or woman alive than to ignore a simple safety task and lose one’s life.”

The Founder of Safety Without Border (SWB) Mr Patrick Adenusi challenged FRSC to change the game plan by clamping down heavily, not only on front seat belt violators, but on all vehicle occupants violating the seat belt rule.

He said: “Ninety-nine per cent of government and security officials do not wear seat belts. FRSC must enlighten motorists that seat belts are not only meant for those sitting on the front seats alone, but for all occupants of a vehicle. It is on record that when accidents occur, those at the back seat who were not latched are usually thrown forward and very often such impact, leaves those in front with serious injuries.”

He also called for more punitive measures to be meted out to violators of the traffic laws and regulations, adding that violators are risks not only to themselves, but to other occupants of the vehicle and anyone driving should be guided by the rules guiding the safe use of the roads.

The SWB chief said the FRSC must not wait for another tragedy to occur, but to take concrete steps in preventing future occurence, for the sake of the unsung victims whose death go unreported.

To reduce the rate of accidents, Adenusi canvassed that government should pay closer attention to the state of the roads, most of which he said are death traps.         According to him, crater, gullies and potholes, dotting the entire landscape of road network across the country, must be addressed if the nation is to successfully reduce crashes on the roads.

He said the state of the nation’s roads remained the all important responsibility that the Federal Government owes the people of this country.

For the status of the country to change from being the fourth with the most unsafe road network, government must not ignore the roads.

He called for the installation of speed limit signs on all roads in the country irrespective of their classes, whether federal, state or local governments.

He said the absence of appropriate speed limit signs on the roads across the country gives more latitude to motorists who abitrarily fix their own speed limits.

Adenusi said speed infraction is usually difficult to enforce where there’s nothing to show that a breach of the law has been committed, adding that setting speed limits is a global rule of the thumb in fixing the troubling high speed syndrome.

“Look at Lagos for instance, the entire stretch of Ikorodu Road, from Western Avenue to Ikorodu town, has no speed limit sign. Ditto for the Third Mainland Bridge and the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, the Apapa-Oshodi-Badagry Expressway. Speaking on the expressways, the speed limit, he said, cannot be homogenous because the speed limit around all built up locations on those routes cannot be the same as other areas that are not.

“If the government or the relevant agencies come up with speed limit across all roads, then contravening violators would be easier as the FRSC would be able to enforce the contravention of these limits,” he said.

Adenusi said Nigerian motorists are used to driving without road signs, a development which has made the regulatory agencies to be the ones championing a speed limiting device on all vehicles.

A vehicle with 80 set as the speed maximum would still run afoul of the law if the driver drives with such speed in a crowded area such as school, market, or hospital, Adenusi said, adding that allowing a driver to apply the “commonsense limit” of speed when on the road is begging the question and limiting the capacity of FRSC to strictly enforce laws meant to keep the roads safe and protect lives and property of all road users.

“That is why I would totally support the enforcement of speed limiters on commercial buses, but resist its enforcement on private cars because, for large passenger buses, there might be genuine need to support your enforcement with a direct limiting device, but private car speed violators are better apprehended with speed limit signs,” he added.

Another safety expert, Innocent Williams, said no efforts should be spared in making the roads saner and freer of accidents.

Williams said anyone without a driver’s licence has no business behind the wheels of any vehicle and should be heavily sanctioned if arrested.

He called for a review of the present penalties and fines for traffic violations, which he said appeared too cheap– a development that often tempts motorists to flout the regulations with impunity.

According to the rules, speed violation attracts only a fine of N3, 000; driving under the influence of alcohol- N5, 000; vehicle licence violation -N3, 000; driving without seat belt – N2, 000; use of phone while driving- N4, 000; and dangerous driving attracts N50, 000 fine.

“These penalties are too cheap and motorists are tempted to misbehave and drive recklessly endangering not only their lives but also all those they are carrying in the vehicle,” Williams added.

Williams noted that of all the elements that could lead to road accidents, such as electrical or mechanical faults, the human element, which is the most crucial, must not be trifled with, if the government is determined to make any success of the safe road campaign promoted by the FRSC.

He challenged the government to rise from the shock of the deaths of Ocholi family members with a resolve to greater commitment to make the road safer for all Nigerians, who deserve better roads as the dividend of the civic duties of the state to her people.

March 15, 2016
Gridlock: LAMATA goes for bicycle, walking option

Lagos traffic, many say, is stressful. To address the traffic hassle, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) is pushing for Non-Motorised Transportation (NMT), such as cycling and walking. How feasible is NMT in Lagos? Some experts say it is a pipe dream. But LAMATA argues that NMT will give the city a world class transportation system. Adeyinka Aderibigbe writes.

o the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) Acting Managing Director Mr Iyiola Adegboye, said non-motorised transportation is the way to address traffic congestion in the city.

According to Adegboye, motorised transportation is one of the lead causes of air pollution, carbon emission, congestion and deaths on the road.

He said LAMATA is determined to champion the change for a cleaner and healthier form of transportation.

Road transportation, according to him, accounts for 22 per cent of global carbon-dioxide emission and 1.3 million deaths yearly, with 50 million injured.

At a workshop jointly organised by LAMATA and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in Lagos, Adegboye said the damage done by motorised transportation through emission and pollution must be checked to preserve the environment and save the future.

Many countries, he said, have embraced NMT, like cycling and walking, noting that in the past trekking was the in thing among the old generation.

He listed the advantages of NMT to include reduction in road crashes, energy conservation and road cost saving.

Others are reduced risk of mortality, improvement in value of time, reduction in congestion, and mitigation of climate change.

He said there was the need to tap into the huge benefits and direct attention towards promoting the mode, providing the infrastructure and promoting their use.

Adegboye said: “The authority has resolved to begin to articulate strategies for the take-off of trekking and cycling as new components of the state’s Strategic Transportation Master Plan and incorporate these in the state’s traffic laws. The Authority shall also provide separate infrastructure where appropriate for the use of cyclists, or those trekking; incorporate standards of provision for cyclists and pedestrians in new road infrastructure design and incorporate responsibilities to provide for non-motorised transport in road fund statutes and procedures.”

Return of the old

Indeed, in the 60s up to the late 70s, non-motorised mode of transportation was planned into the transportation architecture of Nigeria. Many of the emerging urban centres had road networks where a lane was dedicated to cyclists in government’s determination to promote the non-motorised transportation as a cardinal pillar of transportation infrastructure, especially for short distances.

In Lagos and the federal capital, a handful of roads are designed to accommodate bicycle lanes and walkways. The Eko Bridge and Carter Bridge for instance had these features.

Those days, a cyclist, riding with relish on the roads and especially on these bridges were a common sight. But the discovery of crude oil and attendant affluence had since erased that, as the emerging middle class choose to celebrate their new found status with new motor cars.

The pressure to accommodate the increase in the volume of vehicles plying the roads, saw to the jettisoning of the bicycle lane features which were soon totally abolished across many of the nation’s road network. This was the case until two years ago when former Governor Babatunde Fashola, through the supervision of LAMATA, piloted their re-introduction through two roads – in Surulere and (Wempco Road, Agidingbi), Ikeja, where bicycle lanes were specifically created as an added feature of the road rehabilitation contract.

Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, (as he then was), stated that all new road projects to be awarded in the state would have a dedicated lane for bicycle riders, as part of the commitment of the government to igniting a bicycle riding revolution among Lagosians.

For Fashola, the bane of biycle riding was the lack of infrastructure, and pledged that government would promote bike riding and trekking, especially on short distances, as part of measures to address air pollution, carbon emission and traffic congestion.

Not new

The ‘bicycle riding’ revolution as part of the bigger non-motorised transportation or ecomobility transportation initiative wasn’t exactly new.

Former Transportation Minister Chief Ojo Maduekwe, had championed the revolution as far back as 2000. As Minister for Transportation, Maduekwe became the strongest advocate for bicycle riding to promote healthier population, and a cleaner environment. But the campaign soon fizzled out as Nigerians refused to buy into the initiative.

Facilitator of the workshop, UNEP’s Share the Road Global Programme Lead Consultant Mrs. Carly Koinange, said UNEP is pushing for a paradigm shift from car-oriented transportation to people-oriented transportation because the latter, is more efficient and environmentally sustainable means of making short trips.

According to her, UNEP is promoting environmentally friendly transportation because an increase in bicycling and walking would reduce country’s dependence on fuel and reduce premature deaths from traffic accidents each year.

With the global road motorisation which was about 1 billion excluding two wheelers, in 2010, hitting 1.6 billion by 2013 and peaking at 2.5 billion by 2050 and an attendant 0.7 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), lost time to traffic in the Unites States, it becomes imperative for the world to tinker with the transportation systems, Koinange said.

She said the search for new modes was behind Goal 11 of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) which focussed on making the cities safe, with key focus on the need to provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transportation system for all and the expansion of public transportation with special attention to the vulnerable- women, children and persons with disabilities.

She, therefore, challenged LAMATA to champion the cause of a change in eco-mobility which would seek to increase accessibility to modes of transportation that promotes cleaner, safer and friendlier environment.

Adegboye admitted that a lot would depend on how LAMATA applies itself to the challenges that make NMT a non issue in Lagos. Chief among these, the LAMATA chief said are; inconsistent and poor road design, lack of adequate and safe NMT infrastructure, scant consideration for vulnerable groups, such as children and the physically challenged, and lack of enforcement on existing infrastructure.

Other limiting factors are the non recognition of walking and cycling as priority investment areas by government, competition of other road users who see cyclists and pedestrians as nuisance, and the safety risk of walking or cycling in Nigeria.

These have resulted in inadequate policies regarding NMT, as well as poor implementation of NMT master plan because they are not considered as a way of dealing with increasing trend in motorised rates.

Adegboye lamented the absence of political will to champion NMT’s cause through the legislation of relevant laws, and lack of enforcement on existing NMT facilities.

All of these, he argued, had led to poor opinion of NMT as a modal choice by citizens and competition of other road users who see cyclists and pedestrians as a nuisance. He said to succeed; LAMATA must reduce the safety risk in walking and cycling.

According to him, LAMATA has come up with short, medium and long-term strategies aimed at turning Lagos into a walking and cycling megacity. These include taking an NMT audit, planning, designing and construction of safe and accessible infrastructure, stronger management of pedestrian bridges and crossing that would lead to an attitudinal change among Lagosians.

No NMT

But for experts, this is another wrong-headed initiative that may not achieve desired results. A road safety expert, Adetokunbo Thomas, said though the NMT was a good idea, it cannot work in Lagos, because it does not fit into the state’s present transportation modes.

He said: “Except you limit walking and cycling to intra community, there is no way it could serve the general interest of motorists.”

According to him, “In copying things from the West, some things do not just make sense and one of them is NMT. In developed societies, they have developed multimodal systems and so they can introduce road tax which makes it a wise option for people to patronise public transportation, the reverse is the case here. Here, attention is concentrated so much on one mode of transportation and the infrastructure is too poor and inadequate to accommodate NMT.”

Executive Director of Safety Without Borders Mr Patrick Adenusi said NMT may not work in this part because of our level of humidity.

According to him, Lagos is sunny and a man cycling on a short distance would have perspired so much that he might need to have a shower when he gets to his destination.

He said while it was true that the older generation used bicycles, “it must be pointed out that they never rode bicycles to social events. They only rode it to their farms.”

Adenusi said the risk element of adopting an NMT in a city like Lagos is high. Walking or cycling on Lagos roads is extremely risky because “most motorists are not trained to drive”. He wondered how many business executives of political appointees the agency would convince to ride a bicycle to their offices.

For Adenusi, most roads within the metropolis are no longer suitable for NMT because they have been demarcated for Bus Rapid Transit, adding that “if you have already dedicated a lane for BRT’s use, where will you give to the cyclists or pedestrians who you are encouraging to walk? Going ahead without dedicating an bicycle area would only breed confusion and make transportation more strenous”.

He said countries that has introduced NMT not only have suitable weather and not as humid as ours, they have also developed a seamless intermodal system of transportation that promotes trekking or cycling as the last mile transportation option.

He said: “NMT is a fantastic idea, but it is not what we need now. It can no longer work in our environment. The infrastructural requirement to re-integrate it now would be too high and I see this as another opportunity by the west to sell their bicycles to us. If we are still mopping up motorcycles because they are not in our transportation plan, why open ourselves up again as a dumping ground for bicycles? Would these people establish their manufacturing plants here, or would they just be traders interested in repatriating fortunes to their home countries?”

Adenusi said in assisting us tackle our crisis, UNEP should be fair to Africa by trying to study our challenges rather than pushing things down our throats.”

More of trains

Rather than promoting NMT which may seem right but non fitting into our environment, Adenusi canvassed stronger support for the development of a robust train infrastructure.

“What Lagos and Nigeria needed now is to have a rail network that works. If this happens, there would be a major drop in traffic congestion because people would have better, faster and more affordable option but more fundamental is that people may decide to live in the interlands and work in the urban centres.

“An improved train service would translate to a reduction in the number of vehicles on the road, whether passenger or cargo. Many would drop their vehicles and even move out of urban centres to the peripheries, yet retain their work.”

March 8, 2016
Getting motorists to embrace insurance

Many motorists do not have valid insurance cover, leaving victims to their fate after an accident. To correct this anomaly, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has initiated an awareness campaign, ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE and OLALEKAN AYENI report

It is a malaise that has become a culture on the road. A motorist hits another, usually the one ahead of him and within a twinkle of an eye, they begin a row that would leave a chaotic traffic gridlock. This usually continues until a law enforcement agent comes to straighten things out.

“You don hit my car…oyinbo repete,” a song in the 70s by Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi, now an Evangelist, the scenario. However, the effect of such delays are more devastating now, because of the increase in motorised vehicles than they were in the 70s.

At such times, according to a motorist, Olaosebikan Olajide, “reason usually takes flight as the road ‘demons’ would simply take over”.

But the Lagos Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Hyginus Omeje, said the ‘indiscipline’ occurs because of the “absence of insurance cover”on most vehicles.

He said over 85 per cent of vehicles plying Lagos roads either do not have insurance cover or are parading fake ones obtained from nebulous avenues. He said soon, the agency would swoop on motorists with fake insurance certificates.

According to Omeje, the sector has started an awareness campaign on motor vehicle insurance, which will see its officials going to schools, hospitals, churches, mosques, motor parks and other public places, to educate people on the advantages of having an insurance cover on their vehicles.

He said motorists often block the road during crashes, waiting for traffic agencies to intervene. Such behaviour, he said, would not arise if they had motor insurance – either third party or comprehensive.

“A will say you are not moving the vehicle. B will also disagree with moving the vehicle, forgetting that a minute of obstruction can cause people hours in gridlock.

He said what parties needed in the case of an accident was the exchange of the insurance papers, and then the insurance companies will take over. But people are fighting because they lack knowledge of this vital cover that gives them succour.

The Sector chief said many times some people transfer the burden of these minor accidents to motorists, thereby creating problems as they hold other road users to ransom over issues that could have been transferred to their insurers.

He said: “The situation is so bad that some have even forgotten that they are carrying comprehensive cover and would still be fighting someone who hits them from the rear, rather than just calling on their insurer to fix the damage.”

According to him, if their vehicles are insured, no matter the class of insurance, drivers need not engage in arguments that contribute to gridlocks.

Omeje said Section 139 (1) of the National Road Traffic Regulation, 2012 makes it an offence for any person to drive any uninsured vehicle, trailer, stage carriage or omnibus on any public road, while Sub-section 3 of the same regulation makes it an offence for any person to drive any vehicle with forged or false insurance papers.

According to him, the insurance required under the regulation shall either be the Third Party Insurance or Comprehensive insurance cover.

Reeling out statistics, Omeje said, “in the last three years, thousands have died or suffered from physical or mental disability from road crashes. “In 2013, a total of 367 accidents were recorded, with 1,030 injured and 115 dead. In 2014, 323 accident cases, recorded 707 injured persons and 106 deaths, while a total of 289 accidents recorded between January to September 2015, left 642 injured and 82 deaths.

Each time a crash occurs, the victims go uncompensated as a result of ignorance of their rights to same by the insurer.

He said passengers had a right to some form of compensation if they sustain any injury on any vehicle that had a genuine insurance cover, while opportunities are also available for insurance owners to increase the benefits if they could pay just a little bit more.

Omeje said it is sad that many Nigerians, including the educated, are ignorant of the benefits of insurance, adding that this would soon begin to change with the aggressive awareness campaign his sector intends.

The exercise, he said was being embarked upon in collaboration with critical stakeholders, such as the Insurance Awareness &Advocacy Group, (IAAG Nigeria) and the Nigeria Insurance Association (NIA). The campaign, he added, is to sensitise motorists, mostly the main stakeholders in the transport industry, Petroleum Tanker Drivers of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (PTD-NUPENG), National Association of Truck Owners (NATO), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), among others, to have a better understanding of the benefit of insurance and enlighten their members, a development which he added will reduce crashes on the road.

Omeje appealed to the IAAG and other stakeholders to give the campaign the widest coverage to get across to all the major parks in Lagos and its environ so that motorists will understand that giving token to touts for the procurement of insurance cover is not only illegal, but is defeating the purpose of insurance.

He praised the NIA for coming up with the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database (NIID), which has improved the public’s access to confirming not only the names of insurance companies and insurance broking firms operating in the country, but also the genuineness of the certificates procured from them.

He advised the vehicles owners to ensure they patronise insurance firms whose names are on the database for whichever category of insurance cover they require, rather than patronising touts or illegal outlets for such documents.

IAAG Nigeria’s President Mr Indongesit Mbat said the awareness campaign is aimed at improving the knowledge base of Nigerians to the huge benefits that are locked in the insurance sub-sector of the economy and how they could unlock these for their benefits.

Mbat bemoaned the huge ignorance that still pervades even the educated in the country on insurance, adding that the first step to correcting this is the campaign that would change the perception of the people to insurance.

“Insurance is viewed mainly as having nothing in store for the poor but exclusively for the rich. That perception must change and that is why we are going to all public places to re-educate the people to see the advantages they are missing in avoiding insurance. Insurance is all about life and providing for unforeseen eventualities that often causes disruption to the normal flow of life. So, everyone ought to embrace insurance and it must permeate to the grassroots.”

On motor vehicle insurance, Mbat said though insurance per se would not reduce accidents, he assures road users of the benefit of compensation when accidents occur. “Insurance brings succour in case of any accident, either on a comprehensive basis or to an innocent third party.

Insurance firms support safe driving. All classes of insurance can bring succour to a third party giving them reliefs from the effects of accidents. In case of any accident, insurance companies of both parties holding third party instruments would cover the damages to which their owners are exposed.

Mbat said even passengers are also liable to enjoy some limited reliefs even in a third party insurance as presently obtained, adding that governments should come out strongly to .

“Passengers have a limited cover in case of accidents even in the case of third party. A commercial operator could therefore expand the cover of the instrument to give more reliefs to his passengers.

An NIA official, Mrs Bola Omole, said NIA came up with the NIID to enable all to ensure that they patronise authentic insurers. She said in an economy that has a huge third party insurers, any vehicle owner can confirm the authenticity of a policy issued by any licensing office.

She said: “Someone could just log on to the NIID website www.askniid.org and follow the instructions laid out on the website, enter your Vehicle Number or Insurance Policy number to confirm its authenticity.

“Once entered, the result will appear right in front of you. If your policy is authentic, your vehicle number, policy number, vehicle type will appear. If it is fake no information will appear, meaning it is not in their database. If your insurance policy is not NIID, it is fake,” she says.

In such eventualities, such a person cannot make a claim if anything happens to him or his car and the authorities could impound his/her vehicle.

The benefits of this initiative, Mrs Omole said are quite enormous. “For example, by typing in the vehicle numbers of suspicious vehicle, or one which is contravening traffic laws, you would get the name of the owner of the car. The police can also use it to authenticate vehicle ownership against Vehicle Licence and Proof of Ownership documents. The benefits are, indeed, immense and will materialise as time goes on.

“This is a laudable development which I hope everyone adopts. I hope they go on to include Properties Insurance, Fire and Burglary Insurance, Life Insurance etc to this platform. That surely will change the landscape of insurance in Nigeria.”

She urged vehicle owners to follow the due process of getting a comprehensive insurance cover.

There seems to be no other way if Omeje’s assertion must be believed. With the FRSC set to begin a clampdown on all those without genuine insurance document, the road may eventually become safer for road users and end may soon be in sight for gridlocks on the roads.

March 1, 2016
Senators, Reps promise more funds for rail

Things may soon start looking up for the 116-year-old Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), following a visit by members of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Land Transportation. The lawmakers promised to ensure that more money is given to the corporation for its ongoing transformation, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

FOR the immediate past Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Adeseyi Sijuwade, the visit of members of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Land Transportation was his last official assignment at the 116-year-old corporation.

Until he lost his job last Tuesday, Sijuwade enjoyed the confidence of the executive and the legislature in driving the change at NRC. After a tour of the corporation, the lawmakers promised to push for more funds for the corporation to sustain its ongoing transformation.

The Senate panel Chairman, Olugbenga Ashafa faulted the N4.5 billion earmarked for the NRC in the 2016 budget, describing it as “grossly inadequate”to meet the immediate needs of the sector.

Ashafa said: “What can that amount do in one year, for a corporation with an overhead of N399 million? This is because the bulk of that sum is tailored towards personnel cost. For the record, NRC has a total of 9,700 employees.’’

His House of Representatives counterpart, Aminu Isa, pledged the NRC’s achievements, assuring the corporation of the House’s readiness in making funds available for its capital projects.

He said: “This corporation if given the chance, will do better. We as honourable members intend to intervene and see how we can greatly assist the NRC in this 2016 budget. I hope the corporation will be able to take us to the level where South Africa and Ethiopia are with their railway systems.”

Away from the past

Sijuwade pioneered the golden era of the corporation, galvanising change and bringing back on track a sub-sector which had been comatose for decades.

Detailing the successes of the corporation in the past seven years, Sijuwade said the NRC operated mass transit trains, intercity passenger trains, cargo trains, excursion and specialised charter trains across the country.

This is beside the proposed movement of petroleum products from Lagos to the North to strengthen railway relevance to economic growth, a development that would start anytime soon.

For him, the railway is not only back on track, it is on its way to achieving greater feat and becoming the hub of government’s mass transit initiative.

Faced with paucity of funds, indigenous engineers had innovated the production and fabrication of critical parts that has kept the rolling stocks on track.

Sijuwade said over 300 coaches and 200 locomotives have been rehabilitated locally in the corporation’s bid to increase the fleet on its stock and ensure the coverage of more grounds.

The icing on the Sijuwade years was the installation of Safe Train Control (STC) Centre, where all the trains on the NRC network could be monitored, controlled and directed, though computerised monitors.

Expatiating on the STC, NRC’s Director of Operations (DoP), Mr. Niyi Ali, lamented that the project, a novelty, is 50 per cent completed and the optimisation of its benefits to the tracking, control and signalling operation of the corporation is being impeded by lack of funds.

The STC implementation, which began last year, is, according to him, a modern railway signalling system which allows the corporation to monitor real-time movements of trains on the tracks, with the aid of the On Board Computers (OBC) installed on its locomotives.

“With the STC, safety of our rolling stocks and passengers are greatly enhanced because we do not only have the opportunity to see all our trains as they move within all our networks, anywhere in the country, we can also control all our drivers, via the OBC and we can even stop a locomotive with the touch of a button if we see its driver is having difficulty bringing it under control.”

A trial implementation of the project, he added, began last year.

“The problem we have is funding. The contractor has not been paid for over a year. This is one of the projects being funded by SURE-P and since its demise, the project has slowed down. A lot of equipment has already been shipped in,” Ali said.

The challenges ahead

With the Sijuwade administration closed, it is the lot of Mr. Fidet Okhiria, his successor, to continue the march and sustain the tempo of the ongoing transformation.

Okhiria, an engineer, is not on a strange turf as he was hitherto the Director Mechanical, Electrical, Signals and Communications of the corporation.

The difference is that Okhiria, rather than obeying orders now, calls the shots.

His major assignment would be to continue to galvanise the workforce and prime them to sustain the change. He is also to deepen the commitment to innovate and invent in the area of raising local content in rail maintenance.

But, perhaps, his greatest challenge would be taking delivery of the standard gauge and speed train dream of the administration.

Okhiria would be charged with charting the strategies aimed at synchronising all the land modes for effective and seamless interconnectedness a necessity in the mass transit initiative of the Buhari administration.

The new helmsman would be faced with the challenge of raising the workforce of about 10,000, and managing same effectively.

The NRC’s workforce might increase exponentially if the government’s ongoing transformation in the railway matures.

The Minister said the Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge line would generate over 250,000 jobs.

Okhiria would have to be extra sensitive to avoid darts that might be thrown on his path by those who were driven by nothing other than political consideration to sabotage his focus and mandate. The new helmsman as a career officer may well be aware that the forces that had ensured that the NRC remained prostrate are still well and kicking.

How he put the opposition that would rage against his administration of the corporation would determine how long he would survive on board.

February 23, 2016
Be safety conscious, Ambode’s wife tells boat operators

Wife of Lagos State governor, Mrs Bolanle Ambode has urged boat operators to observe safety standards to avoid mishaps and loss of lives.

She gave the charge at Aiyetoro in Epe, during the distribution of over 700 life jackets to some schools in Epe Local Government Area, by the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), in partnership with Total Nigeria Limited.

Mrs. Ambode said safety was too important to be compromised, urging the operators to streamline their operations to make safety a priority.

According to her, “there has been a series of unpleasant incidents of boat mishaps around this area in the past; some involving school pupils while going across the lagoon to their various schools.”

She said users of water mode of transportation face the uncertainty of safe arrival, urging boat operators to reduced this risk.

Mrs Ambode said: “These circumstances informed the initiative of LASWA and Total Nigeria Limited, in donating life jackets to pupils schooling in the riverine areas of Epe Local Government.”

She added that the government had introduced measures to improve water transportation, including the construction of modern jetties and the enforcement of safety rules among boat operators.

Mrs. Ambode, who called for the upholding of the “No life jackets, no water travel”campaign, asked boat operators to shun overloading, night travels and boat cruising by untrained persons.

Observing that safety on water must be a collective responsibility, she urged parents, teachers, school managements and LASWA to step up safety advocacy among users of water transportation in Lagos State.

Earlier, the Managing Director of LASWA, Ms Abisola Kamson, said the donation was part of strategies aimed at improving access to gadgets to promote safety of the vulnerable , especially pupils in riverine areas.

She said the administration was determined to safeguard the water-ways, and ensure the safety of lives of those living in the riverine areas whose main source of transportation remains the water ways.

She said every child or adult embarking on water journey deserved to be protected and must, therefore, make use of life jackets.

The Executive Secretary, Epe Local Government, Ahmed Seriki, said the initiative was the first of its kind in Epe community.

He urged residents to be safety conscious, advising them to call the toll free numbers – 767 and 112 in an emergency.

Highlights of the event included the presentation of jackets to pupils of some schools, a demonstration of how the jackets are worn and removed before and after each journey and a demonstration of the administration of Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on adults and children.

February 23, 2016
Cheers for Light Up Lagos project

Many are cheering the Lagos State Government’s efforts to light up roads to jumpstart a 24/7 economy. Yet, others are not impressed because they believe there is more to do to tackle traffic gridlock, which they see as a problem in the state, reports ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

Adedotun Thomas (a pseudonym) could not believe his eyes as he turned into Otunba Ogunnusi Road from Omole in Ojodu Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Lagos State. He saw street lights, stretching the length of the two-kilometre road. He made his way to Excellence Hotel and turned right into Yaya Abatan Road which was also lit up.

It was his best driving experience at night and he had Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to thank for that.

Thomas recalled that the last time he had such a wonderful driving experience was days after the Yaya Abatan Road was delivered by the contractors to the government.

“The light was switched off a week after that event and we had thought the lights were never meant to work,” he recalled.

Thomas is not alone. Many Lagosians are thrilled, as more and more streets are joining the league of Mushin-Oshodi-Ikeja Road and Mobolaji Bank-Anthony Way, which have had regular electricity, especially at night, for upwards of seven years.

Some other areas that have been lit up under the project include Ikorodu to Lagos Island, Ikeja, Oshodi, Iju Road, Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Eko Bridge, among others. While areas such as Oba Ogunji Road, Capitol Road, in Agege, Oregun Road, among others, are being worked on.

The Light Up Lagos Project, is another feather in the cap of Ambode, who has taken more than a passing interest in making driving, especially at night, safe comfortable and convenient for motorists.

Penultimate week, the government completed the lighting of the stretch from Ojodu Berger to Third Mainland Bridge.

Mr Steve Ayorinde, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, said the project was embarked upon because the Third Mainland Bridge constitutes an important artery of the road network in the state, as it connects the Mainland to the highbrow economic pot of the state.

Ayorinde added that the project was being vigorously pursued because it not only adds up to strengthening the security architecture, but promotes night economy.

He said: “The economic transactions of Lagos has gone beyond what can be limited to the daytime; as such, the night economy component should be fully developed.

“Every businessman wants to invest in a safe and secured environment. Once an investor is assured that the operating environment is safe and secured, the assurance of more investment is guaranteed.”

The lighting up of the Third Mainland Bridge is regarded as a strategic move aimed at strengthening the collaboration between the state and the Federal Government, which is expected to go a long way in boosting the economy of the state and the nation.

The lighting is also to improve on the security architecture and ensure that many areas that were hitherto classified as “black spots” and “security threats” are well illiminated, especially at night.

This has not only improved traffic, but has improved on security of motorists, who hitherto fell into the hands of rogues and robbers, who hid in the darkness to unleash mayhem on road users.

Too short

Just as some motorists have continued to pour encomiums on the government for improving security and visibility at night, experts have observed that the project would in no way reduce the pains motorists are daily subjected to on the roads. Many have lost count of the ceaseless prayers offered for the government to come up with a critical intervention plan to relieve them of gridlocks in the state.

Carpeting the light up exercise in an interview on Friday, Prof. Adegboyega Banjo said “when a man does today, what he was supposed to have accomplished yesterday, you are obligated to greet him and salute his courage, especially when the issue was executed with the least cost. In the case of the street lights, if they are being executed at the least cost, we would still praise the government, even though they are yet to begin to scratch the surface of what is needed to redistribute traffic and ameliorate the gridlock on the roads.”

Banjo, an ex-World Bank official and consultant on transportation development, said so long as the cost are reasonable, it must be acknowledged, adding that though they improve security, they have no impact whatsoever on traffic congestion, which is the major menace on the roads.

Another expert, Patrick Adenusi, agreed with Banjo, and urged the government to sharpen its focus and spend funds on those areas with much impact on roads and motorists.

Adenusi, founder of Safety Without Borders (SWB), said: “Short of improving security and making motorists more aware of the road ahead, street lights are of no direct impact, and could not be categorised as critical road infrastructure.”

Adenusi and Banjo believe traffic must be redistributed for there to be meaningful impact in the reduction of congestion on the roads.

For Banjo, the government ought to have concentrated in improving the condition of roads in the state, adding that it is only when the condition of the roads are good that lights would make any appreciable impact.

He, therefore, demanded that attention be placed on road maintenance and the expansion of road junctions, most of which he said are dysfunctional because they are not well designed.

“The government needs to keenly observe the pattern of traffic flow and redistribute it. To do this, alternative roads need to be built, especially in the metropolis.

“The kilometre of roads in Lagos State is grossly insufficient, if you look at the distribution of traffic within the metropolis vis-a-vis other parts of the state. The government’s effort at building new roads needs to focus on these areas. If you look at the metropolitan area, the road networks are the same as what obtains 20 years ago, despite visible increase in population and the number of vehicles. Government needs to take another look at building roads outside the core metropolis,” Banjo said.

Adenusi said what is needed are road furniture that would aim at “decongesting, and improving the flow of traffic”.

“Government should work on providing infrastructures such as appropriate road markings, and road signages, such as speed limit signs, stop signs, No U turn signs, no overtaking and other signs that make the roads more friendly.

He said: “It would be shocking to note that except from Lekki-Epe corridor and at Alausa, the seat of the government, there is not a single road sign on Lagos roads. Motorists don’t know the approved speed limit on which type of roads and so you find our hospitals are usually filled with accident casualties.”

New Mechanism

Adenusi added that making the road safe goes beyond painting the road kerbs in standard black and white, as this does not have any impact on traffic flow. “These irregular painting of our kerbs are a waste of efforts, waste of labour, and a sheer waste of scarce resources. In developed societies, you see people regularly washing these paints weekly, so they remain very bright, but here once the kerbs or medians are painted, they are forgotten and become caked with dust, which remains until somebody else just remembers it is time again to award the painting contract.”

He canvassed for more fundamental investments in the roads, if government must be taken serious in its intention to fix the congestion and make motorists love the use of the roads.

February 16, 2016
Ford plans four new SUV models

Ford Motors has promised to come out with four completely new models in the next four years.

The automaker already has the best selling SUV in the Explorer, as well as the second best selling crossover in the Escape. It also has two less successful models, the Expedition, a full-size SUV, and the Edge crossover.

It will fill out its SUV line-ups by moving into additional segments with the new offerings, rather than replacing existing models.

Sales of SUVs or crossovers were among the fastest growing segment in the U.S. market last year, up 16 per cent, according to sales tracker Autodata.

Ford said it expects that growth to continue, with SUV share of the market rising from 35 per cent to more than 40 per cent.

Ford gave no details about which segments the new models will compete in, but it said it expects to take aim at younger millennial car buyers, who have been slower than previous generations to buy new cars.

Mark LaNeve, Ford Motor Company Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Service said the expected growth in SUV is not dependent upon gas prices staying so cheap, even though he admitted that it will helped growth in the segment in recent years. Even if gas prices go up, refuelling costs for owners of modern SUVs will be much less than they were during the last SUV boom at the start of the last decade, he said.

Ford did not identify the segments it plans to now compete in, but the company does not have a compact SUV, like the Jeep Wrangler, or a subcompact Crossover, like the Honda HR-V. It also doesn’t have a true crossover with three rows of seats, and its luxury Lincoln brand has only three SUV/crossover offerings, the Navigator, the MKC and MKT.

The new models will be global offerings that can be sold in other markets where there is also growing demand for crossovers and SUVs like South America and China.

February 16, 2016