Things to know about the Lagos State's First and Last Mile (FLM) Buses

 

The Lagos State government on Tuesday 18th April, 2021 unveiled 500 mini buses code name First and Last Mile (FLM) buses to ensure efficient intra-city transportation in the state. This 500 buses is believed to be the first phase of the planned 5,000 mini buses aimed at boosting transportation system in Lagos State. Speaking at the unveiling of the First and Last Mile (FLM) Bus Scheme at Ikeja, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said that buses would take care of commuting between the main transit corridors and the hearts of the communities, where the bulk of people reside and where the high capacity buses would normally not pass through. He went further saying that bus scheme was an important milestone to achieving the inter-modal transport system which would give the people the choices they deserved, reducing congestion and journey times, and improving the quality of life.

  

He said that it was also about improving and guaranteeing the security of lives and property of Lagos residents. According to him, in February 2020, the state government restricted the operations of commercial motorcycles (Okadas) in six Local Government Areas (LGAs), nine Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), and 10 major highways in the state.

The Governor said "the full implementation of a safer and more efficient alternative transport solution, that takes out the need for Okadas and replaces them with the FLM buses, thus curbing the incidence of Okada-related crimes and robberies".

”We will continue to monitor and assess the situation over the next one-two months and tweaking our response appropriately to ensure that ultimately, we are winning the war against crime and criminality associated with Okadas.

”If we do not see any improvement, we will have no choice but to go for a full and complete ban on Okada activities in the state".  

 

Truckademy's view 

We agree with the Lagos State government's initiative because its a model that most mega cities around the world have used to reduced private car usage, carbon emission and to curb (to a large extent ) traffic congestion within the city which invariably reduces pressure on social infrastructure.

 For example, a bus have the capacity to carry more people at once compared to a private car or a motorcycle see diagram below.

   

The FLM buses will also be making use of a digital payment card which will enhance the cashless policy of the Government towards shifting towards the digital economy. This cashless initiative will not only curb the challenge of finding lower denomination of the naira notes to passengers, it will also help to reduce time wasted on such encumbrances. With the cashless card, it will enhance seamless mobility and digital transparency and accountability in the operation of the buses. 

More importantly it will help to improve commuter's safety and reduce motorcycle-induced crimes which is a serious issue being faced by Lagos State.

Our advice to the Lagos State government is that those whose jobs have been lost due to the ban on motorcycle operations within the State needs to be absorbed into the scheme through training and re-training either has a bus driver or in other vocational skills so that crime rate can be drastically reduced within the neighborhood.     

 

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