The current fuel scarcity rocking Nigeria, which has refused to go away after several promises by the federal government to end it, has exacerbated traffic in Lagos, forcing the state government to take unprecedented steps to ameliorate the situation.
On Wednesday, commuters in Lagos were stuck in long traffic tied to long queues at filling stations along major roads, a situation which has become the norm since the fuel scarcity began last year.
To curtail the challenge, the Lagos State Government is moving to regulate activities of major independent petroleum marketers operating on major roads and traffic prone areas.
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NAN reports the commissioner for transportation, Frederic Oladeinde, announcing the move in a statement on Thursday. Oladeinde said the move by the transport ministry to regulate activities of the marketers was necessary due to lingering fuel scarcity across the country.
He said the lingering fuel scarcity had continued to affect the free flow of traffic in Lagos.
The commissioner explained that the move became imperative to check indiscriminate queuing by motorists who oftentimes park carelessly on the roads and bridges to buy petroleum products, therefore, impeding free flow of traffic.
He said petroleum marketers whose filling stations are on major highways and areas susceptible to traffic would be restricted to opening hours between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. daily, pending when the fuel shortage crisis subsided.
Oladeinde said the government had charged the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Vehicle Inspection Service, Transport Operations Compliance Unit and other law enforcement agencies to ensure seamless flow of traffic across Lagos.
He advised all major and independent petroleum marketers to comply with the directive or be sanctioned.
However, the Lagos traffic situation, although it has been compounded by the recent increase in the number of vehicles waiting in line along major roads to buy fuel, needs more than regulating the activities of petrol marketers to stop.
With more than 40% of cars in Nigeria registered in Lagos, experts have said that the city needs rail transportation to reduce the number of vehicles on its roads. That is in addition to calls for more road networks that will provide alternate routes to motorists.
So far, steps taken by the government, including the dismantling of roundabouts and junctions on roads across the state and launching waterways transport, have failed to solve the perennial Lagos traffic challenge. This is partly due to overpopulation.
While acknowledging the need for a diversified transport system, Oladeinde said in 2021 that the population of Lagos is expected to rise to 35 million in the next ten years, generating 40 million trips daily, and, currently, 97% of transportation is on road.
“It’s important that we diversify the trips that we make. Of the trips that we make, 13.2 million that we make today are public transport trips of which Danfos (buses) cater for 80%, not a good story,” he said.
In December, Lagos took a bold step to diversify its transport system after its Blue Rail Line project was completed and tested by the state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The first phase of the project, which is capable of moving 250,000 passengers daily, spans 13 kilometers, extending from Mile 2 to Marina, covering five stations, is expected to be commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari this January.
While the Blue Rail Line is a milestone, experts said that Lagos needs similar projects that will offer alternate transport service to the people in major parts of the state to curtail its perennial traffic situation.