Following the enforcement of the recent ban on motorcycle (Okada) and tricycle (Keke) as means of transportation by the Lagos State government, residents of the most populated city in Africa were forced to pay 50 percent more on transportation within the busy city on Monday.
The transport fares offered by both e-hailing companies (Uber, Bolt and OCar) and the public transport buses jumped on Monday morning as the absence of Okada and tricycle led to a surge in the demand for the available but insufficient transport options.
“Okada was always my best option of getting to work early due to Lagos traffic, but now that there is a ban I’m forced to take a bus. The prices are not even friendly,” a 28-year-old Eke John who works with a consulting firm in Lekki told BusinessDay at Yaba Bus Stop.
The cost of transportation by public bus from Yaba to Obalende increased by N100 on Monday, the third day of the ban enforcement. Before Monday, passengers paid N200 for the distance but that changed to N300. It was the same price increase from Ajah to CMS as passengers were made to pay N100 more as against the normal N300 before the ban.
“The drivers are obeying the law of demand, the higher the demand the higher the price,” Thomas lmafidon told BusinessDay at Oyingbo Bus Stop.
The fare offered by the e-hailing Uber, Bolt and OCar surged by over 100 percent after the Okada and tricycle ban. When BusinessDay checked for the fare on the e-hailing platforms it showed that from Sabo to Victoria Island, which ordinarily costs at most N2000, was now going for as high as N5000 – N600, while the least was going for N3000 on one of the platforms.
“Fares are higher due to increased demand,” Uber said on its app. Bolt on the hand said, “Price is higher due to high demand.”
Pouring out their frustration and dissatisfaction over the recent ban, Lagosians lamented the lack of alternative measures to fill the gap that has been created due to the recent ban.
“If they want to ban Okada and keke, I don’t have a problem with it but they should have put in measures in place to ensure that people like us who don’t have cars wouldn’t have to suffer,” a lady who simply identified herself as Jane, told BusinessDay in Victoria Island.
“As you can see, we are more than 20 people here and we have been standing here for more than an hour, with no hope of getting a bus, and even the ones that are coming are calling ridiculous prices,” a middle-aged woman who asked not to be identified lamented.
Responding to the current development, Chijoke Amadi, a banker who works in Lagos Island but resides in Yaba, said, “There are some areas that only motorcycles and keke enter, now that they have been banned, are we going to be walking to cover that distance. I think the government should have put in measures to avoid suffering.”
Lagos State is said to have introduced a fleet of 65 buses to join the others on some major routes from yesterday, Monday, in its efforts to cushion the effect of the ban on commercial motorcycles and tricycles.
The government in a statement by Gbenga Omotoso, commissioner, information and strategy, said the government was aware of the effect of the ban on the riders and planned to announce soon some measures to tackle the likely effects of the order, besides the programmes of various agencies, such as the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Office of Civic Engagement, Lagos State Parks and Gardens and others.
“With the Lagos Okada ban, we appear, as usual, to have gone for the option that involved the least thought and planning from a public policy perspective. If you are introducing 65 buses and 14 new ferries from tomorrow, introduce them first and watch it work before announcing a ban,” Joe Abah, country director at DAI, said in a tweet on Monday.
Announcing the restriction and ban of commercial motorcycles and tricycles in six local government areas of the state with effect from, February 1, the information and strategy commissioner said it was not surprising that the ban recently placed on commercial motorcycles and tricycles in Lagos State by the government was going to generate intense public interest and a seemingly endless debate. In fact, it was going to be a debate between the rich and the poor of the society, and it is the more reason the debate is a sensitive matter.
“This is the first stage of the state government’s plan to sanitise our roads and protect Lagosians from the negative effects of these illegal modes of transportation. The law is very clear. Motorcycles (Okada) and tricycles (keke) are banned on all highways, bridges and listed roads,” he said.
ENDURANCE OKAFOR
