Yes this is the topic for last week engagement but honestly I still can't allow it pass without me telling you guys what transportation is all about in Lagos State and my personal experience on that.
All my life I've lived in ABA Abia State a very calm state when compared to Lagos State, Abia State when it comes to public transportation you can't compare them with Lagos State.
In Abia State public transporter appeal to passengers before his join them and all my stay in ABA I never knew that public transporter can be so disrespectful and ill mannered.
Mood of transportation in lagos state.
Lagos have different mode of transportation, we have them tricycle known as maruwa, we have the yellow buses that can carry up to 18 passengers, we also have the government allocated bus known as BRT, unfortunately all this mode of transportation are reckless and disrespectful they don't even care about human life.
Currently we have electric train that runs from one train station in the mainland to a particular train station in the island and this is interesting though there are some challenges facing it too.
Some irritating factors.
In every junction in Lagos State you'll get to see some group of men known as "Agbero", and all they do is to extort from the public transporters, unfortunately the government have not done anything about this situation.
Most times we get to see them dragging a bus steering with the bus driver because the bus driver refused to remit the amount the want, is not as if they are using such money for any tangible thing, that is the annoying part.
Secondly due to large number of public transportations in Lagos, lagosians experience traffic for hours on daily basis, it is only in Lagos that someone will spend six to 8 hours in the traffic just because of large number of vehicle on the road.
Thirdly once there is increase in fuel price the transportation fee will increase twice the Old price or more, the transporters do not mind if workers get salary increments or not, that is why most people are just working for transportation and house rent in Lagos State.
My experience with public transportation.
This is funny but I have to write it down.
Few days after my arrival in Lagos I was asked to go get something in the market and the name of the market is idumota, this is a very big market located in the island and I was going from the mainland.
So I stepped out the bus stop expecting to see buses packed like I normally see in my state I never knew that I have to run along with the bus, I stood for like an hour or more no one even asked me where I was heading to, I came back home and told my family members that I didn't see transportation to the market, everyone started laughing at me because they knew that wasn't really the situation.
The next day my sister-in-law joined me to the market but we'll get to the bus stop while I was still standing my sister in-law run along to a a running bus and she was asking me to come and come come in my head I was thinking come to where how do they expect me to jump into a moving bus.
who does that?
I stood and was looking at her so she came down of the bus and the bus moved and that was some miles away from me, so she told me that if I'm to wait for a bus to stop that we won't be able to go to the market, so I have to get my head prepared to run along with her I was thinking what if I fall and got wounded.
Long story cut shorts.
Finally jumped into the bus, while coming back from the market it was same experience, gradually it became part of me jumping bus and out of a moving bus.
Tho recently there is pack but not to regular so if you want to survive in Lagos state you must learn to jump.
Conclusion.
Lagos State is a very big state and if the government really have the interest of the occupants at heart they will work on those challenges that public transportation face in Lagos State, adopting some technology can help to enhance transparency in the transportation system, security will improve and this will benefit both inhabitants and the government.
