How Bike Hailing Industry is Changing Transport Landscape in Lagos Megacity

The advent of new technologies such as ride-sharing platforms has revolutionised the nations’ transport sector, especially in the Lagos metropolitan.

The traffic congestion in Lagos megacity has become a nightmare for commuters as they cannot easily move from one point to another in the state.

But since the bike hailing service disrupted the Lagos transportation sector, Lagosians can now easily commune from one point to another.

A decade ago, the concept of booking a motorcycle, on or off your phone, for short-distance travel was not a possibility in Nigeria.

Today, it has become an everyday activity for working professionals and businessmen and women in Lagos – home to roughly 22 million people which could top to 30 million in the next 10 years, according to estimates by the state government.

“The convenient mode of transportation using the bike hailing service has become an inseparable part of our lives,” said Timothy Okafor, a businessman who lives in Ipaja and has a store on the Island.

Since the launching of the industry-leading players such as MAX, ORide, and Gokada at various times between 2017 and now, the operators have provided a safe and secure alternative transport system in Lagos, allaying the common fears associated with regular motorcyclists known as “Okada.”

One key impact is that bike-hailing services have created a means for evading traffic congestion, which has increased in a fast-growing city like Lagos, as commuters are now sure of reaching their destination within a specific time.

Since the inception of these bike hailing services, public tales of traffic have subsided, as citizens who in time past would have been stuck with their traffic fate, now have fast and reliable options. Customers who have made use of any of the services have taken to social media in sharing the various ways the service has saved them time spent in traffic.

Most of the operators are platform-based bike-hailing: companies that coordinate rides powered by robust technology infrastructures. Despite the differences in business models and the scale of their network, the impact of the operators on everyday Lagos Life is a common denominator. These include safe, secure and more appealing motorcycle transport networks, economic growth through job provision and access to key transportation insights through technology that city planners can leverage.

For instance, MAXOkada which started bike-hailing with 10 bikes in May 2017, now runs the service with well over 1000 bikes, a testament to the adoption rate by citizens. According to MAXOkada, every trip is monitored with technology, allowing the operator to analyze all key metrics associated with the trip as well as the driver’s performance. This real-time line of sight into the key data concerning trips, such an as the speed of the driver, how the driver used his brakes and complying with traffic signs provides continuous feedback for improvement and action by the operators.-

Another operator is Gokada. It says it has empowered over 2,000 drivers who were earning averagely N30, 000 monthly as dispatch riders and barely N3, 000 daily as Okada drivers. Now the average Gokada driver earns N10, 000 daily and has raised their standard of living by over 100 percent.

Adetayo Bamiduro, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MAX.ng, attributed the growth to the ability of technology-enabled transportation hailing providers to offer convenience to consumers, where one can get a ride within five minutes anywhere in town. In the last three years, leading startups within the space have grown rapidly, demonstrating unquestionable adoption by Lagosians, as they provide access to a faster option, to get around the many traffic bottlenecks.

In recent developments, the operators have formed an alliance-Transportation Hailing Alliance of Nigeria (THAN). This coalition of operators is for those leveraging technology within the motor-taxi industry in Nigeria to ensuring safe, reliable and affordable transportation. The group is presently composed of the nation’s leading motorcycle operator MAX, ORide, and Gokada, with hopes to attract other aligned players in the immediate future.

The group’s goal as an industry is to drive public education on the importance of safety, the responsibility of citizens, and to align quickly with the Government on an agreeable framework for the transportation needs of citizens in a fast-growing megacity as Lagos. This includes partnering to deploy technology infrastructure that helps the government achieve its broader vision of a smart city.

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Seun Alley, Director of Partnerships at Oride, a member of THAN, spoke on the reasons for forming an alliance. “There are three core reasons for the formation of the alliance. First, if you look at the proliferation of motorbikes in the city of Lagos, there is a need to challenge Lagosians to begin to demand more from motorcycle riders, such as high-quality riders, ensuring that the riders are in the best state of mind when they are riding, knowing that they can demand safety tools from riders, and more importantly should be able to make complaints when they are dissatisfied with the service they have gotten.

So our first objective is to sensitize Lagosians that safety is their personal responsibility.”

“Second, is also to begin to educate drivers that they have a responsibility to be safe and keep their passengers safe always. Sometimes, drivers put themselves under very stressful circumstances just in pursuit of their livelihood, without regard for their own personal safety. While we understand the need to make money, we believe that the drivers themselves need to be educated adequately on the importance of their personal responsibility for safety.”

“Lastly, is in the area of collaborating with government to help achieve the status and vision of a smart city that it desires. And we know that technology plays an important role in the development of a smart city, which is the baseline competence of every member of this alliance. So for us, the alliance is about providing a common technology infrastructural support to the government based on insights from our ongoing daily business operations.”

“We’re proud to be at the forefront of a sector that is changing exponentially and look forward to being a part of its continued evolution with our vision to empower drivers and improve the quality of life for countless citizens,” she added.

Fahim Saleh, Founder, and CEO, Gokada, another member of the alliance said that operators have invested and continue to invest huge resources in a technology-driven system of performance rating of drivers, training of drivers before they are onboarded on the platform, real-time assessment of driver behavior, consistent communication with drivers, and disciplinary measures for erring drivers. In addition, operators also provide adequate safety tools and awareness as well as identity information on drivers that reduce security challenges drastically. More importantly, is the use of technology that helps the government get more visibility into the operations of the industry as a whole, and helps with better city planning.

THAN said safety is one of its prime concerns. In reinstating its stance in safety, Gokada launched G-medic, a rapid response service. G-medic was launched to help administer first aid to cases of accident and her victims before getting them to the hospitals for proper medical attention. In the same vein, the startup provided the Nigerian Police Force with a good number of bikes (30) to aid their operations. This is to encourage the force and ease their operations in ensuring that the city of Lagos remains safe.

“As an alliance, we are also trying to self-regulate and ensure we can develop a unified disciplinary code across the board so that riders can know that whichever platform they jump to, their infractions are going to be treated similarly,” he said.

In speaking to how well the group maintains regular interaction with the Lagos State government, Bamiduro said,

“From time to time, we are carried along in developments in the transportation sector by the Ministry of transport, as well as areas of improvement the ministry wants us as a whole to improve upon. We have had interfaces individually with Mr. Governor, and at his instance had interface as a group with the Senior Special Adviser on Transportation.”

“The reasons for our engagements have always varied, sometimes regulatory, sometimes advisory, and other times we are basically just seeking the Government’s support,” he added.

He said the operators in the alliance are diligently tackling trust issues for bike riders and passengers through a feedback mechanism and other measures that enhance trust. He also added that what the alliance requires is a partnership with the public sector to ensure the services they provide work for people of all ages, incomes and mobility needs.

According to him, there is no one solution to solving transportation woes, adding that a multimodal system is necessary. He said a mixture of multiple transportation modes that allow urban mobility in a city like Lagos to reach its full potential will include motorcycles and other forms of transportation. Therefore, all hands must be on deck to ensuring their safe, secure and reliable operations.