Institutional Structure and Operations

In addition to theState Ministry of Transport there are presently six (6) agencies in the Sector with different degrees of autonomy namely: Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA); Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA); Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA); Lagos State Drivers Institute (LASDRI); Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA); and, Lagos Bus Asset Management Limited (LAGBUS).

While at individual level the agencies function well, the State needs to harmonise the role of these various agencies to eliminate potential conflicts and avoid duplication of efforts. The agencies’ operations also suffer from absence of a well-articulated and adopted policy and strategic framework for the transport sector. The absence of an overarching transport policy has led to fragmentation and duplication of institutional Transportation is predominantly road-based and carries up to 93% of

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responsibilities among various agencies, and lack of inter-agency coordination among these various bodies. The policy gap also means absence of documented standard procedures for the design, technical and economic evaluation of programmes and projects.

The other operational challenges that have been identified in the provision of efficient transport services include but are not limited to the following:

· Inadequate Public Transport: All modes of transport have challenges. The bus public transport operation suffers from high levels of fragmentation, inadequate regulation and indiscipline. The Rail Transport has few existing rail corridors and the corridors are grossly under-utilized. In the Water Transport there is no coherence amongst water transport regulatory agencies (LASWA, NIMASA & NIWA). In the non-motorized transport infrastructure facilities are extremely limited throughout the State. Finally in the para transit mode of transportation (okadas) regulations are not effectively enforced.

· Low Cost Recovery: Cost recovery in the transport sector is particularly low. This is due to low user charges, inefficient collection systems and poor management and technical capacities.

· Low road network density and efficiency: The road network density, put at 0.6 kilometres per 1000 population, is low. Alternatively, Lagos State has 148 cars per 1000 people, with a high car density of 620 per square kilometre. The network’s efficiency is similarly low, with a limited number of primary corridors carrying the bulk of the traffic.

Inadequately designed interchanges, where they exist at all, provide only partial access to the primary network. Many tertiary roads play the roles of secondary ones. So far few junctions have been signalized.

· Road Safety, Environmental and Social Concerns: Poor driver behaviour, public transport operators’ indiscipline, unsafe vehicle conditions, uneven road conditions, poor street lighting, lack of pedestrian facilities and poor traffic enforcement all combine to produce an accident rate that is probably among the highest in the world. The environmental concerns include vehicle emissions, improper waste oil disposal and high traffic noise level. Expensive transport fares, high accident rates, unreliability of the transport system and displacements constitute the major social issues.

3.3.4 Programmes

The State has responded admirably to the above challenges by, among other things, embarking on a number of demand studies of the public

transport system, expanding public transport services, engaging in regular road network maintenance and rehabilitation, inviting Private Sector Participation in the supply of transport infrastructure and implementing public enlightenment programmes on traffic regulations.

Projects and programmes that have arisen from these activities have included:

l The Traffic Improvement Scheme is

to reduce travel time on the road thereby enhancing movement for favourable economic sustainability. The project includes lane marking, construction of Median Barriers and improvement of traffic gridlocks. A total of N555million has been spent on the project as at December 2011 with convincing evidence of positive impact.

l Provision of Traffic Infrastructure: The road infrastructure project is aimed at ensuring sanity and safety on the roads. The project includes Bus lay-bys and Traffic Signal lights. A total of N1, 107 million has been spent on the project. There is abundant and convincing evidence of substantial impact from this project

l Public Road Safety Programme: The project involves Road Markings and Signage as well as installation of Crash Prevention Guidance (CPG) and Intelligent Transport System solutions. A total of N609 million has been spent so far on the project as at December 2011 with evidence of positive impact.

l Channelization of Road: This project involves the channelization of Mobil Junction to the Omole Gouge to afford proper drainage on this part of the road. A total of N1.5 billion was spent on the project with evidence of positive impact.

l Clearing of Waterways/Dredging: The project is to enhance water transportation and involves dredging and clearing of navigable routes. A total of N89million has been spent on the project since inception.

l Construction and Rehabilitation of Jetties: The project involves construction of jetties at Oke-Afa, LASU, and Ijegun. It also consists of rehabilitation of the long abandoned jetties in various locations as part of water transport infrastructure. A total of N1.469 billion has been spent in order to provide a viable alternative to road transportation.

l Rail Transportation: The Project involves the implementation of two rail lines namely; Red line to run Agbado to Marina and Blue Traffic Improvement Scheme:

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line from Okokomaiko to Marina. A total of N3.4billion has been released for the design stage.

l The LASTMA project is to fully equip the organisation with the necessary tools for the effective discharge of its mandate. The project includes communication gadgets, patrol vehicles, traffic control equipment, office accommodation, etc. A total of N895 million has been spent on the various projects.

Motor bicycles and Tow trucks were also purchased for the purpose of rescue and efficient traffic incident management.

3.3.5 Prospects

Lagos State has always wanted to achieve a transportation system that provides a safe, dynamic, integrated, affordable, diverse and sustainable means of transport which supports optimal use of resources, social inclusion and quality of life. In order to achieve this vision by 2025, it is estimated that LASG will need to increase its spending on the Transportation Sector from N20 Billion in 2008 to N 880 Billion by 2025.

LASG currently spends 5% of its budget – about 0.7% of GDP – on transport. In addition, private spending on transportation needs to increase so that it can account for 50% of the total transportation sector spending required to match spending on transport in other cities of the same size. LASG also needs to prioritize investments on infrastructure development and implement significant public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the transport Sector to ensure sufficient private spending for transportation. To this end, some work has already begun with investments in BRT and Ferries.

3.3.6 Summary of Issues