DANFO, TRICYCLE, OKADA HAVE NO PLACE IN A SMART, MEGACITY- as Lagos state is soon to issue drivers’ license
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Taking cognizance of their aberrations, the nuisance often constituted and their clear, and present danger to lives and properties by these sub-modes of road transport, danfo, (the yellow bus}, tricycle, and commercial motorcycle, otherwise known as Okada, the Lagos State Government has continued to tolerate them until the alternative means of transportation already in the works, are completed and delivered in the not too distant future.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, made this disclosure at a media parley with journalists in his office, at the government secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.
He said none of those types of equipment fits into the mass transit mobility the over 22 million population in Lagos needs for daily commuting to their places of work and return to their various places of abode. Neither do they provide the much-needed comfort commuters deserve after a hard day’s work nor allow for psychological preparation for the day’s task while heading for work rather a commuter is often overwhelmed with anxiety as to his/her safety.
He however noted that the menace by operators of those types of equipment of transportation in the metropolis was overwhelming and those actually making use of their services might not appreciate their proscription when the vacuum it will create is not immediately filled with viable alternatives.
Hence government he said, was treating them with kid gloves until just a little while when the light rail, First and Last Mile inner-city minibuses, and the cab-hailing taxis among others, would have begun to operate in the state.
Dr Oladeinde explained the rationale for the government holding back on full-scale enforcement thus, “if the government decides to embark on full enforcement of the law, the state will be thrown into crisis because a lot of people still rely on these modes of transportation as a means of movement, but by the time we are able to provide better alternatives, it will be easy to clamp down on these operators,” he said.
As a means to further enhance road safety and for government to be better assured that the majority of drivers, both private and commercial on Lagos roads, would have had adequate exposure to driving in a smart megacity like Lagos hence, the state government would soon take charge of the entire process of issuing drivers’ license.
The commissioner enthused, “we can disclose that soon, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu will launch the new driver’s license, signalling that the state is on for a new deal of transportation reforms.”
He revealed that a lot of discussions had taken place between the management of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, and the state government towards taking charge of the issuance of drivers’ licenses.
The commissioner explained that in other to make commuting to be fun by eliminating all hassles therefrom, the state government was far along on her major programs such as the junction improvement project in which 10 major ones had been completed.
Dr Frederic Oladeinde also announced that 20 other junctions which never had traffic signal lights had been remodelled and had traffic signal lights installed in them.
The commissioner said the ministry had completed junction work improvements on 10 major junctions and completed traffic signalization in 20 other junctions that never had signal lights.
Oladeinde further said a reviewed Lagos State Transportation Policy was ready and might be unveiled by the governor as soon as it was found practicable.
He said the state’s Strategic Transportation Master plan (STEM) had undergone a series of comprehensive reviews at the instance of the governor so as to accommodate the entire intermodal transport programs and projects the state government had begun since its inception in 2019.
The transportation commissioner who was accompanied at the media briefing by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Alhaji Kamaldeen Olowoshago, and other directors, said the Lagos Ride Taxis, First and Last Mile (FLM) buses, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), including the ongoing massive reforms on the waterways, as well as the construction of the Blue and Red Rail lines, scheduled to be delivered before the end of the year, were all meant to make commuting be fun rather than a trauma
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