LAGBUS, DET and technology transfer

 

As the world grapples with climate change, and struggles daily to adapt to the sad reality, while creating relevant technologies to mitigate the impact, the transport sector deserves more attention because of its inherent flexibility factor when used as a carbon offset strategy. For example, in the United States of America, where transport accounts for more than 30 per cent of carbon emissions (carbon emitted into the atmosphere is the major cause of climate change), the American Public Transportation Association said that public transport in the US saves approximately 1.4 billion gallons of petrol and about 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. Over there, the train system is the most efficient in many ways, typically by emitting less carbon and using less fuel per passenger than buses. Then, the next system is the Bus Rapid Transit, which runs extra-long buses in dedicated lanes. A 2006 study by the Breakthrough Technologies Institute found that a BRT system in a medium-sized US city could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 650,000 tons during a 20-year period.

Over here in Nigeria, we do not have a functional train system as a means of public transport, but thankfully, we have a fledgling BRT system. Lagos has the only success story, so far. The first phase of the Lagos BRT, which is owned by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, was opened on March 24, 2008. It goes from Mile 12 through Ikorodu Road and Funsho Williams Avenue up to CMS; with a corridor of 22km in length. Two operators are offering their services to the Lagos BRT: the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers Cooperative and the Asset Management Company owned by the Lagos State Government, known as LAGBUS. In Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, there is an ongoing, but ridiculous, attempt to institute a BRT corridor along the Masaka-Maraba-Garki/Wuse road. The attempt has continued to fail because the route consists of a very narrow road.