afam4eva:
Must you be abusive to drive home a point? Whoever employed you should be sacked.

If you really know how to read and comprehend, picking out the insults and demeaning comments in his posts should be hard to do, but for obvious reason, shut up and re---tarded got your attention.


All I did was ask him questions and he came back with the quote below

We need to get rid of people with such backward mentality who would want to settle for less while the leaders are stacking billions in foreign account.

Backward mentality because I asked you a question? We all have every right to comment and raise issues about our country and I don't see the need to get rid of anybody regardless of their opinions talk less attaching backward mentality labels.


I actually retrained myself.


Btw, I see you ran away and didn't answer my question. Birds of the same feather...

debosky: This thread should be locked - it has clearly lost its initial focus/intent.

From wondering about the authenticity of the report, to claims of wanting 'oyinbo validation' to claims of propaganda machines (laptop teams) taking over the thread/accusations of bigotry, to debates about the aesthetics, to this puzzling and Enugu vs Oshogbo argument. . . .the thread has run its course.

Yes LASG can do better, listen more, steal less, etc. - but what has been done so far was commended as a (relatively) successful model in Africa.

Can our dear mod OAMJ (aka alleged bigot ) please lock the thread.

Unfortunately, another positive story gets derailed with ridiculous nonsense about beautification and other irrelevant garbage.

Eko Ile:


If you really know how to read and comprehend, picking out the insults and demeaning comments in his posts should be hard to do, but for obvious reason, shut up and re---tarded got your attention.


All I did was ask him questions and he came back with the quote below


Backward mentality because I asked you a question? We all have every right to comment and raise issues about our country and I don't see the need to get rid of anybody regardless of their opinions talk less attaching backward mentality labels.


I actually retrained myself.


Btw, I see you ran away and didn't answer my question. Birds of the same feather...

You never read my comments to comprehend them. Indeed, I am surprised your question and replies were abusive. You insulted me first. You indirectly do that like the ventriloquist. I sorry for you dude! I am surprised that you aren't standing for what is better. Is the BRT not over 3 years not what has been the plan and blueprint you are talking about?

Please, stop encouraging dirtiness.

like image below, the area needs beautification. It's been over three years!

all4naija: You never read my comments to comprehend them. Indeed, I am surprised your question and replies were abusive. You insulted me first. You indirectly do that like the ventriloquist. I sorry for you dude! I am surprised that you aren't standing for what is better. Is the BRT not over 3 years not what has been the plan and blueprint you are talking about?

Please, stop encouraging dirtiness.

like image below, the area needs beautification. It's been over three years!

You mind showing us where I insulted you first? At least I quoted your silly insult so why not quote mine too you liar?

Again, Based on your rants about beautification, do you have the blueprint, engineering, architectural or landscape drawings for this project and based on the blueprints, there's zero provisions for beautification and also, is it your conclusion that there wont be any form of beautification for this project because you either have the blueprints or you've looked into your futuristic crystal ball after completion and saw no beautification?

Have you in your mind completed this uncompleted project and saw no beautification?

Passing judgements all over the place over an uncompleted project that you don't even know a damn thing about is just silly and re--tarded. Shut your mouth and quit trying too hard with your senseless garbage.

Finally! After all the derailment, I believe I can now address the BRT issue (the whole beautification issue is a completely different project handled by the MOE [for which the governor has been labelled a "flower planter" ]. I'll address the BRT issue which falls under the purview of LAMATA).

Positives.

1) Better journey times: Citizens can now avoid the terrible traffic jams by using the BRT system (especially the Ojota-CMS route). This is particularly important at a time when the 3rd Mainland Bridge is undergoing repairs.

2) Franchising: The buses are owned and run by private companies which depend on the revenue they receive from the service (advertising and fares). This should prevent the sort of corruption that ruined the LMTS and LSTC services in the past.

3)Planning: A citizen can purchase bus tickets in advance and thus make his transport budget for an entire month, unlike the situation with the danfo aand molue service which are prone to sudden increase in fares.

4) Comfort: the BRT service provides better comfort for commuters (than the danfo, molue and other road transport services), with better seating arrangement, airconditioned service, etc.

5) Increase in choice and number of transport options.


Negatives:

1) Scholars bus: The old LSTC service had scholars buses which provided free transportation to primary and secondary school students (students in uniform who possessed a valid school ID card). We need to revive this system. It's quite scary the way primary and secondary school kids commute to school these days.

2) Neatness: The old LSTC system had car washes at their depots (Keffi, Simpson Street, etc). The bus captain and conductor would bring the bus in for the night and the cleaning crew would take over. The BRT buses were quite clean, until they started carrying adverts. It seems the glue from the ads attracts dirt to the side of the buses. The government must force the franchisees to do something about this. A city's commercial bus service says a lot about it. If you have dirty buses, then it would mean that the city is dirty.

I know that the government and the bus company set up a maintenance factory to take care of the buses and that the engines are in good working order, but they need to do something about the bodywork of some of the buses (they need to panel beat some of the buses and fix the towing mechanism).

3) Ventilation: Although the air-conditioned buses are still running, the fans on most of the other buses have stopped working (apart from the driver's fan). This must be corrected.

4) Routes and franchises* (I see something is already being done about this). While carrying out my research, I have boarded BRT buses from Ojota-CMS, Obalende-Ikorodu, along Agege Motor Road, Lekki-Obalende, Lekki-Falomo and V/I-Marina. Some of the routes and administrative procedures of the franchisees are simply insane! The worst route used to be the Lekki-Obalende route. The bus would go from Lekki to CMS, then turn on to Ring Road/Outer Marina, before heading to Obalende. A 20 minute journey could take 1 or 2 hours! Then there's the crazy practice of checking tickets at the Law School Bus Stop, which creates further delays.

Thankfully, there's a new franchisee on this route that does things more efficiently (incidentally, the new franchisee runs the BRT system using Federal Government subsidy buses). The new franchisee is the Trade Union Congress and they use the "Alternative Route" and head to Obalende through Falomo, while the other franchisee goes through the toll gate and through CMS.

I also think that they should have more segregated routes (the Lekki route should have been segregated).

5) Double decker or bendy buses. I feel bad when I drive by Oworonshoki, Ojota or Obalende and see long queues of people waiting to board a BRT bus. I think use of higher capacity buses, such as the bendy or double decker bus, might solve this problem (although double decker buses are illegal in Nigeria because of centre of balance issues).

Eko Ile:


You mind showing us where I insulted you first? At least I quoted your silly insult so why not quote mine too you liar?

Again, Based on your rants about beautification, do you have the blueprint, engineering, architectural or landscape drawings for this project and based on the blueprints, there's zero provisions for beautification and also, is it your conclusion that there wont be any form of beautification for this project because you either have the blueprints or you've looked into your futuristic crystal ball after completion and saw no beautification?

Have you in your mind completed this uncompleted project and saw no beautification?

Passing judgements all over the place over an uncompleted project that you don't even know a damn thing about is just silly and re--tarded. Shut your mouth and quit trying too hard with your senseless garbage.

I don't want to engage you in any argument for the simple reason you argue blindly. Indeed, I can take you back to the section where you call me misguided ...rant on page 5, the link in bracket(https://www.nairaland.com/986059/lagos-mass-transit-model-good/5) when I responded to someone else who happened to go by the handle ' babapupa'.

You are just being silly though.And, I don't like you. I won't stand to accept you as a modern man!

However, your comment is quoted below.

Eko Ile:


I see you conveniently ignored my questions with your myopic and misguided rant.


I'll ask again just for the heck of it.


Based on your rants about beautification, do you have the blueprint, engineering, architectural or landscape drawings for this project and based on the blueprints, there's zero provisions for beautification and also, is it your conclusion that there wont be any form of beautification for this project because you either have the blueprints or you've looked into your futuristic crystal ball after completion and saw no beautification?

Have you in your mind completed this uncompleted project and saw no beautification? You see how dumb you sound? Why not wait till the project is completed before bothering the whole world with your silly and kiddie rants about beautification.

Passing judgements all over the place over an uncompleted project that you don't even know a damn thing about is just silly and re--tarded. Shut your mouth and quit trying too hard with your senseless garbage.


For your information, you are not spewing any new knowledge about beautification, one thing Lagos state spends a lot of money and energy on is beautification and even letting Banks and corporations take over beautification and maintenance of streets and parks is one thing they do best so quit with all that half baked knowledge.

The street in the picture below was beautified by Zenith bank.

Again, shut your mouth and wait till the project is completed.


www.nairaland.com/attachments/751383_Ajose20Adeogun202_jpg2145fb204121f32bd515c61cff03558d


You are just talking out of your a-s-s-s-s

That was the very first time you quoted my comment which was a response to somebody else's comment who happened to go by the name babapupa.

Dude, I think you are very unsophisticated in your approach. Such doesn't help the country.

^
babapupa ===> Eko Ile . . .It's no secret . . .So his attacking you is understandable

all4naija: I don't want to engage you in any argument for the simple reason you argue blindly. Indeed, I can take you back to the section where you call me misguided ...rant on page 5, the link in bracket(https://www.nairaland.com/986059/lagos-mass-transit-model-good/5) when I responded to someone else who happened to go by the handle ' babapupa'.

You are just being silly though.And, I don't like you. I won't stand to accept you as a modern man!

However, your comment is quoted below.
That was the very first time you quoted my comment which was a response to somebody else's comment who happened to go by the name babapupa.

Dude, I think you are very unsophisticated in your approach. Such doesn't help the country.

You are a damn lair, below is my fist response to your beautification nonsense. And there was no insult there till your silly and insulting response

babapupa:

Slow down please. This project is still on going and you have no idea regarding the final look or aesthetics. Going on and on about looks when the thing is not ready makes no sense, its insane. If you have the blueprintt, please share it with us.

It you want them to make the project gold plated, please show your generosity by writing them a check and if you think laying concrete over tens if miles is the best way to go, where is the money going to cone from? You siting here running your mouth?

We all love blings and beautiful things, but we still have to be realistic with our expectations and needless criticisms. Yes we want everything to look like America, hut America started almost 300 years ago and in top of that, America is a very rich country and its cities with fewer populations operates with higher budgets than lagos in Nigeria starting from scratch.



Now, as a reasonable human with 40 naira in your pocket to build a metro rail, but you need 10 naira extra that you don't have for beautification, do you sit on your hands and do nothing to help your own people because you don't have money to design sidewalk?

Is it safe to conclude that you as a leader won't do anything till you have extra money to make everything looks like what's obtained in America?

Also, do you know better than the folks handling this project.

Furthermore, it's still very idiotic and re---tarded to keep passing judgements all over the place over an uncompleted project that you don't even know a damn thing about is just silly and re--tarded. Shut your mouth and quit trying too hard with your senseless garbage. Wait till the project is completed before you show face in this thread again.

And even if they didn't plant flower next to the rail line, feel free to kill yourself if it's killing your soul.

Thank God Fashola is not like you useless clowns with ridiculous and upside down ideas. What's beautification got to do with solving an mediate and pressing problem facing 20 million people and counting?

What's next, go beg banks to plant flowers or else, no metro rail? How dumb and re----tarded.

Eko Ile:



You are a damn lair, below is my fist response to your beautification nonsense. And there was no insult there till your silly and insulting response




Furthermore, it's still very idiotic and re---tarded to keep passing judgements all over the place over an uncompleted project that you don't even know a damn thing about is just silly and re--tarded. Shut your mouth and quit trying too hard with your senseless garbage. Wait till the project is completed before you show face in this thread again.

And even if they didn't plant flower next to the rail line, feel free to kill yourself if it's killing your soul.

Thank God Fashola is not like you useless clowns with ridiculous and upside down ideas. What's beautification got to do with solving an mediate and pressing problem facing 20 million people and counting?

What's next, go beg banks to plant flowers or else, no metro rail? How dumb and re----tarded.

How do you expect me to know you are babapupa and Eko Ile at the same time? This is the last time I would respond to your reply.

Please, don't quote me again! I am done with you.

Eko Ile:



You are a damn lair, below is my fist response to your beautification nonsense. And there was no insult there till your silly and insulting response




Furthermore, it's still very idiotic and re---tarded to keep passing judgements all over the place over an uncompleted project that you don't even know a damn thing about is just silly and re--tarded. Shut your mouth and quit trying too hard with your senseless garbage. Wait till the project is completed before you show face in this thread again.

And even if they didn't plant flower next to the rail line, feel free to kill yourself if it's killing your soul.

Thank God Fashola is not like you useless clowns with ridiculous and upside down ideas. What's beautification got to do with solving an mediate and pressing problem facing 20 million people and counting?

What's next, go beg banks to plant flowers or else, no metro rail? How dumb and re----tarded.

How do you expect me to know you are babapupa and Eko Ile at the same time? This is the last time I would respond to your reply.

Please, don't quote me again! I am done with you.

all4naija: How do you expect me to know you are babapupa and Eko Ile at the same time? This is the last time I would respond to your reply.

Please, don't quote me again! I am done with you.

babapupa or Eko Ile, it makes no difference and it's not an excuse for you to insult, I only slapped you back with your own coin so stop crying like a baby?

You shouldn't have responded in this thread to start with since your main argument and criticism here still sounds re--tarded and pointless.


Saying your under construction and still uncompleted and even unpainted house looks dirty and UN-beautified is dumb and re=tarded simple uncompleted means uncompleted.. It is not buy force to criticize or even say anything if all you have to offer is backward and silly rubbish.

It's not complete. It's disjointed. But here it is.



[size=14pt]History of road transport in Lagos[/size]


An important factor in providing transport facilities in Lagos state has always been the aquatic nature of the state. According to Adeniji A.O. “Lagos Island which covers a mere 1.55 sq. miles was a rather small piece of land. Yet, up to 1950, 65.4 percent of the population lived there. No doubt a contributory factor to this situation could be found in the lack of adequate transport facilities which would have encouraged people to live on the mainland and shuttle to the island daily for business. It should be noted that besides the small size of the island, many parts of it were also swampy or waterlogged”.


Boats therefore became an important means of transport in the area now known as Lagos. According to Kunle Lawal, “ scholars are now suggesting that boat making industry thrived in Lagos as a result of the availability of more durable wood supplied by her eastern neighbours”.


The situation changed with the commissioning of the Carter (1901), Eko (1975) and Third Mainland (1991) bridges which connect Lagos Island to Lagos Mainland. Road transport gained primacy as the most important means of transport in Lagos.


Ayodeji Olukoju, who contributed a piece called “Urban Transport” to “Nigerian Cities” edited by Toyin Falola and Steve Sahm, wrote that “the first commercial bus service was established in 1914 by Charlotte Olajumoke Obasa, a leading indigenous entrepreneur of that time.”
Damola Osinulu on his part writes that, “In the 1920s, road-based bus transportation was pioneered in Lagos by two Nigerians, W.A. Dawodu and Mrs. Charlotte Obasa. This was followed by the establishment of J.N. Zarpas, a company owned by Levantine expatriates. Zarpas dominated the Lagos transportation scene until their buses were acquired by the Lagos Town Council in 1958 to form the Lagos Municipal Transport Service”


Chinedu Ozordi and Olugbenro Adeoye state that“There was no significant change until the 1960s when many operators went into the transport business. This resulted in the emergence of the Bolekaja, which literally means “come down and let’s fight” in Yoruba. As there was never enough room in the packed vehicle for a decent sitting arrangement resulting often in fisticuffs; they would tell each other to “come down and let’s fight.” Bolekaja has since been phased out, and they are now used to carry foodstuff in rural communities”.
Yinka Aderibigbe states that “Molues, it was learnt, took over when government banned the use of Bolekaja, an average sized wood axial bus, which got its name from the manner passengers usually disembark. With only one wooden door at the back, passengers often had a hell of time entering and disembarking from the single exit point and conducting the bus from that position usually had its own problems, which often times led to free for all, making passengers to give the name bolekaja which means (disembark and let’s fight)”.



Yinka Aderibigbe further states that “Until the last one decade, they were the kings of Lagos roads. Those who have lived in the sprawling megacity for upwards of two decades hardly knew any other cheaper means of transportation. They are the moving yellow contraption known in the local parlance as Molue, the effervescent machine that hauls commuters from one part of the city to the other”.
Though many Lagosians are at a loss about the meaning or the etymology of the name, it is thought that Molue is the corruption of “Maul Him”, a description given to the vehicle by the city’s elite who are piqued by the incessant manner the large bodied buses tear clothes and even flesh of passengers while either entering or disembarking as they reach their destinations. Molues are kings of the roads. They are found everywhere, a private sector response to the yearning need for a safe means of mass transportation for the teeming population.


From Ojota to Ketu or Ikorodu and from there to Iddo, a major terminus made popular by the now comatose railway system, to Oyingbo, a bustling transportation haven to Oshodi, Costain, to Obalende, and from there to Apapa, then Orile, Iganmu to Mile 2 and further still to Okokomaiko, on the ever-busy Badagry highway and on the southern fringes of Iyana-Ipaja, Pen Cinema, Egbeda, to Idimu and Ijegun, and other emerging satellite towns of the state, such as Alimosho, the Lagos Molue at a time, captured the terrain, becoming an opium of the commuting masses.


So popular were these buses, that they at a time were printed on postcards and favoured as the face of a developing city state of Lagos.
From wherever you boarded them, a ride in a Molue was an admixture of fun and tears. There, you might be unlucky to have your pocket picked by one of the extremely smart street urchins regarded as area boys, who deliberately crowded the two entrances, making ingress and egress a headache to passengers.


There was no decency inside the Molue. After filling all the seats, the spill over passengers were made to hang on a rail in what was usually called ‘standing’ in the buses. Passengers were so tightly packed that they made nonsense of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s mimickery of their plight in the song, Suffering and Smiling.The air inside the Molue most times are stale, passengers have to cope with the body odours until fresh air permeates the vehicle. Most Molues don’t have windows and passengers have to sit on bare planks which are crudely welded to iron bars by local smithes. A ride inside Molue during the rain can spell disaster if a special outing is in view, as one may end up drenched.


Apart from the steering wheel, the dash boards of most Molues are often barren of any functioning gadgets, the drivers who are often boxed in with a wired mesh, could be found dripping with sweat as they battle with the steering wheel. With no view finder and side mirrors, the typical Molue driver relies on his mates, better known locally as bus conductors to marshal the roads, and these barks instructions to him intermittently.
"O wa legbe e o, (there is a vehicle by your side), Wole wa, (enter this side of the road), O nbo le (a passenger is dropping) or more lewd ones like; Wole pelu senji e o, (enter this bus with the correct fare), O loyun o ponmo o (this passenger, obviously a woman is pregnant and carrying a baby), are few of the jargons of the Molue conductor.
The driver is ever in a hurry. Apart from when it takes off from its major park, Molue never stops. Whether you are dropping off the vehicle or boarding, you have to develop a running feet, as you practically jump off, or rush in, on motion. This act which has become the archilles heels of many hapless commuters have somewhat become the defining mode of recognising who just migrated to Lagos and who is a resident.


The Molue could be a market too. Itinerant merchants often make a kill inside Molue, hawking all manners of wares from the usual drugs to the cure-all herbs that take care of a thousand ailments. Standing at one corner of the bus, the agent projects his voice by usually cupping his hands round his mouth, clears his/her throat and begins by assisting the passengers to call out the many bus stops along the routes, before leading the passengers into prayers which often he/she uses to hoodwink them before bringing out his or her wares. Molues are also a veritable ground for peripatetic preachers. Many young pastors used the Molue as sound bites, from where they work on their confidence to handle microphone and address larger audience in the Church. It could also be a leveler of sorts, a melting pot for the upcoming middle class usually in his razor sharp edged shirts and tie and their female counterpart in their skirt suits, mingling and struggling for space with the pepper retailers, and the mechanics in their grease-blackened aprons.


Because it carries more passengers, fares on Molue are often times cheaper than the smaller commuter buses.


Wale Adeduro recounts this little story “I had asked my father why the largely ugly commercial buses plying Obalende-Oshodi route were dubbed 'Molue' in Lagos. I think my reserved father explained that he was not sure of the origin of the tag 'Molue'. He however adduced a reason for the name. In his opinion the first batch of such vehicles were 911 models of Mercedes Benz trucks without carriers. Some welders in the outskirts of Lagos had the expertise of building cabins on such trucks. Through their efforts, they were able to convert the trucks to passenger vehicles. No thanks to the recklessness of 'Danfo' buses (smaller commuter buses especially the Volkwagen types) conductors on the converted buses often admonished their drivers to 'Molue' (a corruption of the word remould) the smaller buses when they obstruct the larger ones. From that moment on the term 'Molue' became associated with the big bully nature of the 911 model of commercial vehicles in urban Lagos”.


According to Okpi, Ozordi and Adeoye, “Molue and the Danfo buses, which rolled into Lagos in the seventies replaced “Bolekaja”. Molue is a Mercedes truck, which is reconstructed, locally, into a bus which seats about 44 passengers. The Danfo initially started with a Volkswagen model which seats only 12”.


According to Aderibigbe, “The journey to their extinction started some 10 years ago when the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration banned Molue buses from entering Victoria Island. Their operations were limited to Obalende or Falomo roundabout, their operations was replaced with the white painted small buses. With the commissioning of the BRT buses by the Fashola government on March 17, 2008, a more definite roadmap for the phasing out of this phase of the city’s major means of transportation began to take shape as government invited the National Union of Road Transport Workers of Nigeria (NURTW) to partner with it on the new face of Lagos transportation initiative”.



According to Ilevbare et al, “It was the second day of the Lagos State Ministry of Transport' launch of a new public transportation scheme. That scheme, by which private commercial bus operators were banned from plying the V.I and Ikoyi routes, is intended to sanitise traffic in these highbrow areas of Eti-Osa Local Government. But the new scheme offers no succour for commuters, particularly school children

The yellow and black private buses popularly refer to as Danfo , had from the previous day been barred from plying the roads of Ikoyi and Victoria Island by the state government. Scores of mobile policemen and officials of the Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA), were on hand at all entry points to the two neighbourhoods to prevent defiant drivers. Children and women went through untold hardship as they struggled for limited buses that were allowed by the new scheme to operate on those routes. The scenario could best be described as the biblical camel passing through the eye of a needle: a situation where close to five thousand commuters struggle to get seats in a bus that has provision for just 18”. “CMS Taxi and Motors Nigeria Limited (T&M), is the second carrier on those routes". The City Bus which has it's terminals at TBS, CMS/Outer Marina, Obalende and Femi Okunnu Housing Estate (Round About), also has major bus stops in Ikoyi and Victoria Island with different routes and their routes numbers.



According to Kekelola Oyebola "Conflicting claims have continued to trail the decision of the Lagos State government to replace the yellow commuter buses popularly called "danfo" by City Buses in Ikoyi and Victoria Island routes, even as the government has approved special commercial buses for Ajah residents.
The new buses are however, painted green and white as against the popular yellow and black. Feelers within the Ajah community showed that residents are yet to enjoy the benefits of this new transport system as investigation showed that most commuters are still often stranded at the various bus stops within the area.


It would be recalled that shortly after the announcement of the new policy by the Lagos government, a sizeable number of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) members went on rampage to registered their anger. “Efforts by to reach the spokesperson for Cross Country Ltd, owners of city buses to find out their future plans, and other measures put in place to ensure compliance from their drivers failed. He was said to be indisposed”.


According to Okpi et al, “The last time Gerald Onwuzurike visited Lagos was in 1998. Coming from the sleepy town of Okigwe, in Imo State, he was shocked at the frenzied lifestyle of Lagos residents. He has since come back to Lagos to stay for good, and he quickly joined the ever-swelling band of brothers called commercial auto bike (Okada) riders. Today, he is even more astonished at the sea of human beings who calmly wait on a queue for a BRT bus.


“This is an amazing sight,” he exclaimed in pidgin English. “Imagine Lagosians queuing up in an orderly manner. Such a sight was rare. This governor has really tried in providing this transport scheme that has been so popular.”


The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme, introduced by Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Agency (LAMATA), on 17 March, 2008 has been praised by stakeholders as a largely successful venture.
According to Okpi et al, “The scheme was launched on 17 March, 2008, with 100 buses. BRT operates as a transport system, which relies on the use of ‘dedicated lanes’ special traffic lanes to guarantee fast and reliable travel time for commuters. These lanes are usually segregated, thus enabling the buses to have the right of way in situations of traffic congestion. It flagged off with the Mile 12 - CMS route. It was planned by the Lagos state government and run by LAMATA.
“The Bus Rapid Transit system, launched for Lagos on March 17, 2008, successfully transported 9.7 million passengers in the first 100 days of operations,” said Dayo Mobereola, managing director of LAMATA, at a media forum last year”.

Deekaydadon:
the results have even been released in less than 24hrs...overall result is poor and goes to prove UI's point of waec/jamb combination 4 shortlisting.

pls do u kno weda d sch is plannin on invitin d unshortlistd candidates 4 anoda post utme?

naptu2: Finally! After all the derailment, I believe I can now address the BRT issue (the whole beautification issue is a completely different project handled by the MOE [for which the governor has been labelled a "flower planter" ]. I'll address the BRT issue which falls under the purview of LAMATA).

Positives.

1) Better journey times: Citizens can now avoid the terrible traffic jams by using the BRT system (especially the Ojota-CMS route). This is particularly important at a time when the 3rd Mainland Bridge is undergoing repairs.

2) Franchising: The buses are owned and run by private companies which depend on the revenue they receive from the service (advertising and fares). This should prevent the sort of corruption that ruined the LMTS and LSTC services in the past.

3)Planning: A citizen can purchase bus tickets in advance and thus make his transport budget for an entire month, unlike the situation with the danfo aand molue service which are prone to sudden increase in fares.

4) Comfort: the BRT service provides better comfort for commuters (than the danfo, molue and other road transport services), with better seating arrangement, airconditioned service, etc.

5) Increase in choice and number of transport options.


Negatives:

1) Scholars bus: The old LSTC service had scholars buses which provided free transportation to primary and secondary school students (students in uniform who possessed a valid school ID card). We need to revive this system. It's quite scary the way primary and secondary school kids commute to school these days.

2) Neatness: The old LSTC system had car washes at their depots (Keffi, Simpson Street, etc). The bus captain and conductor would bring the bus in for the night and the cleaning crew would take over. The BRT buses were quite clean, until they started carrying adverts. It seems the glue from the ads attracts dirt to the side of the buses. The government must force the franchisees to do something about this. A city's commercial bus service says a lot about it. If you have dirty buses, then it would mean that the city is dirty.

I know that the government and the bus company set up a maintenance factory to take care of the buses and that the engines are in good working order, but they need to do something about the bodywork of some of the buses (they need to panel beat some of the buses and fix the towing mechanism).

3) Ventilation: Although the air-conditioned buses are still running, the fans on most of the other buses have stopped working (apart from the driver's fan). This must be corrected.

4) Routes and franchises* (I see something is already being done about this). While carrying out my research, I have boarded BRT buses from Ojota-CMS, Obalende-Ikorodu, along Agege Motor Road, Lekki-Obalende, Lekki-Falomo and V/I-Marina. Some of the routes and administrative procedures of the franchisees are simply insane! The worst route used to be the Lekki-Obalende route. The bus would go from Lekki to CMS, then turn on to Ring Road/Outer Marina, before heading to Obalende. A 20 minute journey could take 1 or 2 hours! Then there's the crazy practice of checking tickets at the Law School Bus Stop, which creates further delays.

Thankfully, there's a new franchisee on this route that does things more efficiently (incidentally, the new franchisee runs the BRT system using Federal Government subsidy buses). The new franchisee is the Trade Union Congress and they use the "Alternative Route" and head to Obalende through Falomo, while the other franchisee goes through the toll gate and through CMS.

I also think that they should have more segregated routes (the Lekki route should have been segregated).

5) Double decker or bendy buses. I feel bad when I drive by Oworonshoki, Ojota or Obalende and see long queues of people waiting to board a BRT bus. I think use of higher capacity buses, such as the bendy or double decker bus, might solve this problem (although double decker buses are illegal in Nigeria because of centre of balance issues).

Beautification is not all about flower planting. I am surprised at that view by many Nigerians. For example planting flowers on pavement would look ridiculous in many parts of the city rather using tiles on it would make more sense and bring out the beauty.

Sincerely speaking, implementing the BRT(which is more than 3 years old) is the main difficulty in this project while beautification going along would have be easier than thought. I think the Lagos state government missed it in that regard.

It still boils down to poor maintenance culture. We have seen this in the old railway system,etc.

all4naija: Beautification is not all about flower planting. I am surprise at that view by many Nigerians. For example planting flowers on pavement would look ridiculous in many parts of the city rather using tiles on it would make more sense and bring out the beauty.

Sincerely speaking, implementing the BRT(which is more than 3 years old) is the main difficulty in this project while beautification going along would have be easier than thought. I think the Lagos state government missed it in that regard.

It still boils down to poor maintenance culture. We have seen this in the old railway system,etc.

Gezzz. This character is still crying about beautification? Are you having beautification nightmares or you go just comit suicide if you no see flower next to metro rail. See wahala o. Obviously, you're trolling.

Interesting...I've just discovered a male Kobojunkie.

naptu2: Interesting...I've just discovered a male Kobojunkie.

That is not an excuse!If you know what the world thinks about that country as per dirtiness, hell is the only qualification to describe it(most especially Lagos)and you wouldn't be say such thing.

There are projects of this type going one everywhere all over the world and Nigerian own seem to be poorly done and the environment looking dirty. The African giant thing is just a failure on the side of the government to do things right to such claim. If this is supposed to be in Nairobi, Kenya or Algiers, in Algeria you would see how it would come out well done and the environment well maintained.

We should shun the culture of glorifying dirtiness and poor works!

Now its to lay tiles while construction is still going on. Where are they going to lay the tiles sef? On roads and sidewalk that's not even built yet? Very moronic and senseless indeed.

The joker said old railway which is a federal infrastructure....obviously still clueless about the difference between a federal project and a PPP project.