That, Molues and Danfos would be phased out came out months ago but this is the latest on that.

High-capacity buses to commence operation by December –Odubela


The Chief Executive Officer of Lagos State Transport Management Authority, Mr. Yemi Odubela, has said that the high-capacity buses, which will replace the ‘molue’ and ‘danfo’ buses, will start operation by December.

Speaking in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos on Monday, Odubela said it was high time the scheme went into operation, adding that all the ‘molue’ and ‘danfo’ drivers and owners should prepare themselves for the change.

According to him, the high capacity buses has a sitting capacity for 100 people at a time, and one would replace about eight to nine ‘danfo’ buses.

Odubela noted that this would translate to fewer vehicles on the road and decrease air pollution caused by rickety ‘molue’ and ‘danfo’ buses.

He said the buses would be equipped with sufficient comfort that would persuade the private car owners to leave their vehicles and board the buses.

Odubela, who observed that some private car owners avoided some routes because of the recklessness of some commercial bus drivers, said the scheme was put in place by the state government to put an end to incessant traffic jams caused by the commercial bus drivers.

In order not to mix the business of governance with transportation, Odubela said that the state government had made transportation in the state a private affair, adding that about six private organisations had been listed for the operation.

The Punch, Tuesday, June 21, 2005

http://odili.net/news/source/2005/jun/21/426.html

damn thats like removing double decker bus from london, but this was meant to be december 2005 nothing till now still the same

Thats stale old news. Check the date

The Punch, Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Actually the buses are already plying round lagos metropolis.

He said the buses would be equipped with sufficient comfort that would persuade the private car owners to leave their vehicles and board the buses.

Before reading your article i was tempted to say the same thing cos it actually happens to me. The comfort is wonderful except that you have 200 standing.
Most times people sitting sleep off (even in the afternoon), way too comfy

It's a despicable sight: private companies working with government to remove their competition!

so what are they new "Molues" like ? any pictures? _plz

----- And what would be the fate of the phased out damfos and molue's owners whose source of sustainance are dependent on fares generated    any plans / support for them by the government ?

yeah

What I would do if I was running a transit company is hire the molue and danfo bus drivers and train them all as drivers for my new buses. Each bus would be equipped with one driver and maximum 2 conductors. They will all be skilled in driving the buses and some will be trained on the engineering so they can perform repairs, maintenance and troubleshooting.

I was actually thinking of starting a company like that but man the money required is quite a lot. I would need some serious venture capital.

Thats Bullshit.
It cant happen,
Do u want one to dozz off when in those comfy busses?

Do u want one to dozz off when in those comfy busses

It's called power naps , keeps you going sharper n stronger

I hear lots but see nothing abeg

the icon of lagos raod is gone o what a shame

candylips:

the icon of lagos raod is gone o what a shame

What a shame!!!!!!, I say good riddance  no harm, peace 

yes molue is to lagos what double dector bus is to london and what yello cabs is to new york. they should remove them from the road really. they should have modernized them or something

Nigeria: Good Riddance to Molues And Danfos

Sonnie Ekwowusi
Lagos

According to a recent report, the Lagos State government is finally set to launch its much-vaunted new public transport project, Bus Rapid Transport System (BRT) this month or so soon after. In doing this, the government might be phasing out the molue and danfo buses. For a start, the government has imported 400 luxurious buses, which is expected to ply ten designated bus routes within the Lagos metropolis. Of course, it is envisaged that more buses will be imported when the project finally takes off. To show its serious commitment to the project, the government has marked some major expressways in the State with yellow lines and also inscribed the conspicuous three letters, BRT, on them.

Needless emphasizing, overhauling of Lagos public transport system is long overdue. Blackened by suffocating fumes emitting from the exhaust pipes of rickety molues, danfos and heavy-duty trailers, choked to death by the mesmerizing displays by okada riders, Lagos remains an exploding city. There is nothing more striking than the contrast between the sleek jeeps, the inexhaustible abundance of Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Lekki, and the rickety cars and buses lining up the widest streets of the Mainland, sandwiched by fortified mounds of garbage and community of beggars. Driving though Oshodi at night and seeing the sea of human heads surrounded by burning hurricane lamps, you get the impression that what would have been a medium-sized urban city has randomly reproduced itself seventy-seven thousand times. In Lagos, where unplanned new neigbourhoods keep springing up overnight, you could hear these words being muttered by old Lagosians in reminiscent of their so-called glorious past: "when I was younger, Lagos was a lovely place to live in. The Marina was a beautiful garden overlooking the Lagos lagoon. In the evening Lagosians frequently strolled the garden to enjoy the cold evening breeze and to watch the vessels berth". What of the words of the 75- year old Lagos retiree who could no longer stomach the molue? "I was born here, in those days it a delight riding in molue buses. But today those things have become moving copses. You cannot enter them anymore".


Surely, most inhabitants of Lagos share the view of this retiree. The public transport system in Lagos is just very depressing. The best public transport that operated in Lagos was under the management of the Lagos State Transport Corporation (LSTC). But since the LSTC became moribund, no other public transport system could match the record set by the LSTC. The Otedola Jubilee Line came out with a big bang only to fissile out into the oblivion later. The Keke Marwa tricycle, plying some designated remote routes, is no solution. The taxis are few and expensive. Consequently, Lagos commuters suffer all sorts of untold hardships in the course of boarding a public transport. At the close of work every evening, many passengers are stranded along the roads. On a typical rainy day, there are traffic jams all over the roads and the buses are hard to come by. Workers trapped in the web of traffic jam do not get home until, maybe, the next day. Any wonder the molue bus has become such an important common carrier. It is handy, cheaper and bigger too. One molue bus could carry dozens of stranded passengers at a go. It easily solves the transport problems of the poor.

So if molue is the hope of the common man, why ban it? The molue, truth to tell, is very de-humanizing. Tattered, disfigured, smoking, a molue is an environmental pollutant, blight of urban renewal. When it jerks and cascades, all the passengers are emptied into the lagoon. Don't wait to dialogue with a moving corpse. Take to your heels. If you are behind the wheels, please veer off into the bush immediately because you may not be alive to tell your sad story. It is this bad. The worst are danfos. If the molue is the blight, the danfo is a complete menace. To wade off the menace of danfo drivers, many neighbourhoods are now resorting to installing big gates at the entrance of their streets. The danfo bus drivers are so lawless that they now drive on road pavements and road dividers. The average visitor to Lagos must be scared stiff on seeing these tattered danfo buses cruising ferociously on the pavements. Unfortunately, the pot-bellied policemen and road traffic wardens on duty, who ought to teach these reckless danfo drivers a lesson, have compromised their position. When they see them committing a traffic offence, they look the other way in pretence. All they are after is to collect the usual N20 from these reckless drivers.

Yes, while we sympathise with poor commuters who rely on molues and danfos as their only means of transport, we shouldn't forget that the Lagos government is capable of tackling the deplorable public transport system in Lagos State. Conductors cannot pack human beings inside a yellowish hot metal box in a hot afternoon as if there are goats heading for the butchery. I think this and many other problems must have informed the introduction of the BRT project. The Lagos State government is making a big statement, which other States will have to copy, that it is capable of changing the deplorable public transport system in Lagos for good.

Relevant Links

West Africa
Nigeria
Transport and Shipping
Urban Issues and Habitation



But government efforts cannot be crowed with success until it outlaws okada and heavy-duty trucks in Lagos. Agreed, the okada riders render commuters essential services, but the nuisance they cause seems to outweigh their usefulness. For example, the few sidewalks on Lagos roads have become atrophied, no thanks to the menace of Okada riders. The okada commercial cyclist is a metaphor of the survival instinct of the average jobless Nigerian. He is also a symbol of lawlessness in Nigeria. Rough, abusive, dangerous, the okada man does not pretend to be a gentleman at all. He can beat you up anytime, no matter the size of your car. The okada rider uses the horn of a trailer. The okada man always finds his way. He is always right. Okada has recently been banned in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Bad news for 10, 500 okada riders in Kampala, Uganda. The Ugandan government says it wants them to vamoose the roads by January 2007. The oil tankers and heavy-duty trailers in Lagos are equally a big menace. Because they are too old to climb the over-head bridges, they easily break down on top of those bridges causing terrible traffic jam. Worst still, the owners of the Apapa trailers and tankers have converted the Apapa over-head bridge as their packing lot. Too bad.

Therefore the Lagos State government deserves our congratulations for finally deciding to launch the BRT project. But the real problem with the BRT is its sustainability. The beginning, for every government, is always easy. What is most difficult is the finishing. The Lagos State government must first sit down and do its home work well before embarking on the BRT project. Lagos is a peculiar city with a burgeoning population. So, for the BRT project to work well, the Lagos State government must import sufficient BRT buses. 400 buses are definitely insufficient. Besides, government must embark on public enlightenment campaigns to enlighten the Lagos public on what the BRT is all about and it is expected to function.

All said, the real rapid public transport system that will solve the problems of Lagos public transport is the rail system. In the past the trains provided efficient services in Nigeria. It is sad, very sad indeed that bad leadership imposed by successive Nigerian governments has destroyed the Nigerian Railway Corporation. Today weeds have overtaken most rail tracks in Nigeria. By the way, what has happened to the new Lagos rail project?

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/200610110597.html

I can't wait for those BRT's cos hte molues may be an iconic means of transportation but i'll never miss such a thing

Good article abut what we already know about lagos

candylips:

Good article abut what we already know about lagos

It was I only read the first paragraph, but i don't care what happens all i know is i won't miss the molues and danfos if they were to be phased out

I was in lagos recently after spending some years abroad and I must say that the scenes of Danfos and Molues plying the roads of Lagos made me sick. I was very ashamed and disgraced, hoe could our people enter, subjected to this type of transportation in God´s name? It is high time these irresponsinble, reckless, lawaless and assasins are removed from the roads of Lagos. My mother was killed due to the irresponsibilty of a molue driver, who up till today was never brought to justice. I can not remember a single benefit these so called mass transportation buses(molues) contribute to the society. I spent a3 weks in Nigeria and I couldn´t see a single decent TAXI. They are all old and dirty. Our Nigerian heroes(workers) need a decent means of trasportation.

Go and start your own transport company. We need entrepreneurs and not talkapreneurs in this country.

SEGUN2003:

I was in lagos recently after spending some years abroad and I must say that the scenes of Danfos and Molues plying the roads of Lagos made me sick. I was very ashamed and disgraced, hoe could our people enter, subjected to this type of transportation in God´s name? It is high time these irresponsinble, reckless, lawaless and assasins are removed from the roads of Lagos. My mother was killed due to the irresponsibilty of a molue driver, who up till today was never brought to justice. I can not remember a single benefit these so called mass transportation buses(molues) contribute to the society. I spent a3 weks in Nigeria and I couldn´t see a single decent TAXI. They are all old and dirty. Our Nigerian heroes(workers) need a decent means of trasportation.

You have said nothing we dont know already

I an extremely disappointed with your behavior SEUN. You started this forum as a mean of we Nigerians giving our opinions wherever we are in all over the world, why then are you attacking me? Isn´t this place supposed to be a democratic channel for us to give our opinions? I never said I was a millionaire who is looking for a place to invest money, I am a struggler who did not have an opportunity in his own land, therefore, is trying to make ends meet here. While I am here I need to read and share my views with my fellow Nigerians and this is what I am doing, so please SEUN you are doing a great job by maintaining this channel open to whosoever want to give his opinion, I did not mean to hurt anyone, I just said what I thought was right so do not dare censure me. This is an undemocratic act and from what I have read from your postings so far, this is unlike you, Thank you and have a nice week.

dude . he is the alpha and omega of the forum . so you abide by his rules dude

yeah

4 real

Can someone please show us a picture of the new buses , Abeg

They have introduced them in Abuja

what have been introduced to Abuja

candylips:

what have been introduced to Abuja

The London-esque buses

Silly ideas.

have you recommended your own ideas? apart from okada ofcourse

LoverBwoy:

have you recommended your own ideas? apart from okada ofcourse

You speak well my brother, you speak well.

na wa o