The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority

  • Lagos’ innovative plans for walking gets 200,000 Euros grant

    Lagos’ quest for transforming itself into a walking and cycling friendly city-state, has received a boost of 200,000 Euros from the German Government backed Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI).

    In an email announcing the selection of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority’s (LAMATA) entry, Daniel Moser, Management Head of TUMI, said “out of all the applications we picked the most innovative and your project was one of them! We are pleased to inform you that you are a winning candidate of the first TUMI Global Urban Mobility Challenge 2018.”

    The award was presented to LAMATA’s representatives, Deputy Director , Corporate and Investment Planning, Mr. Uthman Obafemi Shitta-Bey and Corporate Legal Secretary, Mrs. Oluwaseun Sonoiki in Leipzig, Germany.

    LAMATA’s entry, entitled “The Lagos Sidewalk Challenge” detailed the importance of walking as the primary and one of the zero carbon modes of transport in Lagos, which is accessible to the young and old, rich and poor and underpins the value, efficiency and financial viability of Nigeria’s transport system.

    In order to make walking the mode of choice in Lagos, the state government through LAMATA agreed on an ambitious new non-motorised transport policy in October2017, developed with the support of the UN Environment led Share the Road Programme. The state government is committed to make walking and cycling within the city safe and convenient, by investing in sidewalks and cycle lanes.

    Managing Director of LAMATA, Engr. Abiodun Dabiri said the grant was a recognition of the huge work Governor Akinwunmi Ambode was doing in the public transport sector which made provision for pedestrian walkways and cycling.

    Carly Koinange, the Global Programme Lead for the Share the Road programme said “it is so exciting to hear Lagos have won this grant. It’s another step in the right direction as about 40% transport trips daily are through walking and cycling and there is the to ensure those involved can do so safely and conveniently. We look forward to supporting the State Government with this great project”.

    “The Lagos Sidewalk Challenge” plans to apply new innovative tools to assess existing walkability and steer investment to improving some of the most walked areas of Lagos to consistent quality standards to benefit pedestrians.

    Lagos, which currently hosts about 15 per cent of Africa’s population of more than 1.2 billion inhabitants and is regarded as a pioneer of future city thinking throughout Africa, is expected to witness visible transformation in sidewalks safety, accessibility and attractiveness.

    In particular, the new Ikeja Bus Terminal near the Lagos airport and the central business district on Lagos Island will be used as showcase of Nigeria’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

    On a global scale, the project will accelerate the delivery of a safer more people-centred transport system in Lagos and indeed, Nigeria, by creating new and more adequate, safe and protected walking environments at some of the most walked places in the city to benefit women, children and the needs of the elderly and physically disadvantaged.

    Under the “The Lagos Sidewalk Challenge” project, sidewalk will be created in the most walked part of Lagos Island CBD and in the busy of State capital’s leading to the new bus station, Ikeja Bus Terminal.

    To achieve reasonable access for public transport and NMT users and stabilise the use of personal motor vehicles, Lagos State Government has acknowledged that it would need to build at least 470 kilometres of Mass Rapid Transit network, 900 kilometres of footpaths and 300 kilometres of cycle tracks as well as adopt measures to check horizontal sprawl and promote transit-oriented land uses.

    Within the next 15 years, Lagos State Government aims for the modal share of walking and cycling to increase to at least 50 per cent of all trips, public transport and para-transit trips to constitute 90 per cent of all motorised trips and all streets with a right of way of 12 metres or more have sidewalks and all street with a right of way under 12 metres having a sidewalk on one side and/or traffic calming measures.

    “The Lagos NMT policy presents a complete paradigm shift from existing development patterns toward a transport system that prioritises walking, cycling and public transport as a viable alternatives to car use,” the entry stated.

  • Ambode approves four bus termini, 100 bus shelters to ease commuting

    Ambode approves four bus termini, 100 bus shelters to ease commuting

    Determined to change the face of public transportation in Lagos State, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has approved the construction of four new bus termini in Agege, Ojota, Ajah and NAHCO near the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja.

    The Governor also approved the construction of 100 modern bus shelters on major public transport corridors in Lagos.

    Managing Director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Engr. Abiodun Dabiri who disclosed this said the governor was poised to change the transportation landscape with infrastructure that would support the commuting needs of the state’s more than 20 million inhabitants.

    Besides the new bus termini, the governor had earlier approved the construction of the bespoke Ikeja Terminal while those of Yaba and Oyingbo are nearing completion.

    According to Engr. Dabiri, the new transport infrastructure were part of the grand design in the state Bus Reform Programme expected to redefine the commuting experience of the average Lagos commuter.

    “The governor is poised to integrate the public transport modes such that the average commuter can plan his or her journey and save a lot of time through available modal choices. LAMATA is ready to make this happen since we have positioned ourselves to keeping Lagos moving,” Engr. Dabiri stated.

    Read Also: Ambode approves N30,000 for interns

    He appealed to the public to cooperate with contractors working on site to translate the vision of the Governor to reality.

    “These projects are time-bound. There is therefore the need for the contractors to complete them on time. The Government has good intentions and it is the responsibility of the public to support government’s plan. Above all, I appeal to all Lagosians to pay their taxes so that government can do more” Engr. Dabiri said.

    The State Government’s Bus Reform programme when fully implemented will deliver to Lagosians an effective and efficiency bus system that will support the status of the State as a mega city, as well as its economic growth and developmental aspirations.

     

  • Ikeja bus terminal 90 per cent completed, says LAMATA

    An official of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMA-TA), Mr Kolawole Ojelabi, says that the Ikeja Bus Terminal project is 90 per cent completed.

    Ojelabi, who is the Head of Media and Communication, LAMATA, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday.

    He said that the terminal project was part of the Lagos Bus Reform Programme of the state government to organise transportation services in the state capital.

    The media head explained that the current situation where commercial buses used the roads and under the bridges in Ikeja as parks was not in line with international practice.

    “Government wants to enhance the aesthetics of the city and clean up Ikeja.

    “Ikeja is the state capital and you cannot allow about 20 bus parks in one area and those buses are going to the same place.

    “So, all the parks are going to be relocated to the bus terminal.

    “The project which started in February was supposed to be completed in four months but the contractor had to place order to import Teflon, a substance used in molding articles.

    “Apart from that, the offices and tarmac to hold the buses are ready, the terminal as it is, is ready for use as soon as the governor commissions it.

    “I can say that the project is 90 per cent completed,” he said.

    The spokesperson explained that the project was designed as a mega terminal to accommodate buses plying various routes in the state.

    Ojelabi said that the terminus was designed to accommodate and take buses to over 30 destinations within the state.

    “As part of its bus reform programme, the state government is introducing medium and high capacity buses that will take 30 passengers and above from the central point, where people will board the buses,” he said.

    The LAMATA spokesman explained that under the state’s Strategic Master Plan for transportation, there would be 13 bus terminals across the state which the Ikeja Bus Terminal will link up, for ease of commuting.

  • Classic buses for classic commuters

    Classic buses for classic commuters

    LAGOS State Government has taken a major step towards easing commuters’ pains. Last Thursday; it launched 434 air-conditioned buses and inaugurated the expanded Mile 12-Ikorodu Road.

    Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos State, Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu performed the ceremony.

    The buses, tagged BRT Classic or BRT Upgrade, according to the Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Dayo Mobereola, are not owned by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), or the government, but provided by a private firm on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). The government provided the infrastructure while the private operators brought in the vehicles to run according to LAMATA’s guidelines.

    This, he said, is the hallmark of the new thinking and commitment of the government to providing safe, reliable, comfortable and affordable motorised options for discerning Lagosians who love comfort.

    The option, according to him, became imperative due to the gridlock over the last decade. He said not only would the government improve its presence in the sector, it would also ensure the reduction of vehicles on the roads, which would in no small measure ensure cleaner air and environmental preservation, because of reduced emission of carbon-monoxide and other green house gasses into the atmosphere.

    Mobereola said the new path was conceptualised in 2008, when the government began the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Scheme. He, however, admitted that “along the line we got derailed and lost that essential part of the scheme that would have attracted it to the business class and professional groups. While we concentrated attention on providing service to the masses, artisans and traders who had no opportunity and may not be able to get their own cars, we neglected to serve a critical segment who might have their cars, or have the means to buy, but may have decided against it if government had provided an alternative that is comfortable, reliable and efficient”.

    He said the result was the huge deluge of private vehicles, hundreds of which are added daily by those who have the capacity to acquire private vehicles. Mobereola said the government was determined to make motorised transportation the hub of mass transit in the state, while the waterways and the light rail would be introduced to add to public transportation alternatives for residents of the state.

    The BRT, which was introduced on March 17, 2008, on the Ikorodu-CMS route, Mobereola said, has to date carried no fewer than 350 million passengers, and these ones on the daily basis, will carry almost 450,000 passengers.

    According to the commissioner, the new thinking is that a city with 22 million people, 60 percent of who must move from one point to the other needs efficient, reliable, accessible and safe transportation system.

    Assuring Lagosians of government’s commitment, he said the Ambode administration will in the coming months flood the state with modern and comfortable BRTs adding: “this is just an example of what we planned for Lagos State”.

    Transportation experts agreed no less with Mobereola, they argued that if traffic gridlocks could be felt in developed economies of the world with advanced and fully integrated modes of transportation, Lagos with wholesale reliance on the oldest mode of transportation should be expected to worsen in the next decade if government refuses to deepen its involvement and provide leadership in the sector.

    Speaking on the road,the commissioner praised the people for their understanding and forbearance all through the planning and execution of the newly expanded road that now has the BRT road at the median, adding that 10 stakeholders’ fora in all were held, all to ensure the buys-in of residents.

    “Managing the people while construction was going on simultaneously was a great challenge. We learnt from the mistakes of the past – mostly operational.

    “We had 10 stakeholders’ fora, three before the construction work started and seven during the project. We were engaging the people at every stage and they were guiding us. It was close project that involved the community because we needed their buy-in for us to succeed.

    He said the project will improve the traffic situation along that corridor. As more people enter the BRT buses, the road will be freer; we are also doing the engineering on the road, especially at the junctions to increase the capacity of the road and make the way big enough to accommodate more traffic.

    He said the N30 billion project which was financed by the French Development Agency (AFD), the World Bank and the state government, would enhance the mobility of the people and reduce travel time between CMS and Ikorodu by 60 percent, reducing a journey which presently takes an average of two and half hours to 45 minutes. He said the BRT will give priority to public transport, which is a mass carrier for a lot of people.

    Majority Leader of the Lagos State House of Assembly representing Ikorodu Constituency 1, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade said the project will add value to the area.He, therefore, challenged the people to maintain the project to encourage the government.

    The Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Kabir Sotobi, praised the government for the success of the project and called for the execution of the Ipakodo jetty, which  he said would further boost the transportation initiative of the government.

    Representative of Mr Yemi Adeola, the Managing Director of Sterling Bank Plc, (the financier of the buses), Mr Lanre Adesanya thanked the state government for giving the bank the opportunity to partner in making life better for the people of the state. He said the project would benefit no fewer than 4000 families directly and provide jobs for thousands more who would work as ticketers, vendors, mechanics, even as he said the bank has reduced the prevalence of cash in the system.