Okanlawon, K. R.

(2007), “Inter-modal Transport System: A Study of

Inter-modal Transport System: A Study of Lagos State

By

OKANLAWON, KEMI R.
Department of Geography, University of Lagos
Akoka – Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria.
Tel.:08025225438
E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Researches have revealed that a single means of travel cannot serve adequately the intra-

urban needs of the majority of people living in an urban environment, especially when an

urban environment has a terrain that is dominated by land and water like Lagos. There is

the need to have a modal split to share the total number of person’s trip-by different means

of travel which if done, will go along way to reduce traffic congestion on a particular route.

In Lagos, the potentials for the rail-based and water-based public transport services are yet

to be fully developed and properly integrated with the predominant road-based services and

there are no attempts at regularizing their operations. Consequently, there is the need to

integrate the various transport modes (road, rail, water and air) in Lagos through inter-

modalism. This paper examines the concept of inter-modality, identifies the features of

inter-modalism and assesses inter-modal transport system in Lagos state. Also, this paper

highlights ways of achieving successful inter-modalism and integrated transport system in

Lagos.
Keywords: Inter-modality, Transport Modes, Public Transport, Passenger, Trip,

Integrated Transport System.

Introduction

Lagos is a mega city whose operations have extended to the neighbouring states. Its rapid

growth in recent times has brought with it very considerable increases in demand for all

forms of urban transport. However, this demand has not been matched by the supply of

sufficient facilities and services. The result has been widespread road congestion,

overcrowded buses and long delays for commuters. The cost to the community in terms of

wasted time, excessive fuel consumption and rapid wear and tear of vehicles has been

enormous. In response to this situation, considerable efforts have been made to find a

solution. In particular over the years, much consideration has been given to the need for a

mass transit system and as early as the 1960’s the possibility of a rail-based system for

Lagos was mooted (Dar Al-Handasah, 1994).

The analysis of the Nigeria’s transport system so far, indicates a warped modal

development tilted in favour of the road. The road is responsible for about 90% of both

freight and passenger transport. Although the road is good for short to medium distance

freight haulage, it is almost solely responsible for the carriage of bulk goods through all the

length and breath of the country, including the study area (Oni, Okanlawon and Asenime,

2006).

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Whereas goods arriving by water should be transported from port by rail or inland

waterways, the ports, except in the case of Apapa and Port Harcourt, are not connected by

rail and the waterways are not dredged, leaving the roads as the only option. This obviously

will overstretch the roads. Connections must exist between the ports, the rail, the inland

waterways, the air and the road. By making use of the advantages of the different modes,

transport costs are reduced and resources are better utilized (National Transport Policy for

Nigeria, 2003).

Road transport, for many years, was described as the least economic form of surface

transport and defied the economists by being the fastest growing freight carrier. Air

transport has an advantage in long distance and high speed passenger movement while

water transport is indispensable for overseas freight movement of all shipment sizes.

Pipeline transport is feasible where there is a heavy, permanent, and regular flow of a

single bulk commodity between two fixed points and is especially suited to the movement

of liquids and gases. Railway has an inherent advantage in the speedy movement of bulk

commodities over long distances. However, it has been observed that the rail system cannot

effectively perform freight haulage which is its major revenue earner without being linked

to other modes of transport especially the seaports, waterways, inland container depots

and major highways. Rather than existing as a rival mode and being cut up in an unhealthy

kind of competition manifested by other transport modes, the railways should be seen as

playing a complementary role in terms of providing inter-modal services (Chris, 2001).

Northam (1975) also agrees that the various modes of transport systems should

complement one another and not compete.

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In Lagos State and in Nigeria today, there is no functional, integrated transport system like

“Rail-Road-Water system” or “Air-Rail-Road-Water System” as can be found in advanced

economies such as Britain, France, and U.S.A. Actually, there is poor inter-face between

Rail and Road, thus making it difficult to enjoy the ease and benefits of Inter-modal

passenger services (Nwanze, 2002). Olanrewaju (1986) noted that despite huge investments

in transport development, there remain serious inadequacies in Nigeria’s transport systems.

Transport services in Nigeria are not organized and are being operated disjointedly. Since

they are not integrated, they cannot form a system and therefore cannot operate as a system.

This lapse culminated in serious defects such as:

• Construction and establishment of Tin –Can Island Port in Lagos without a rail link

• Construction and establishment of both Katsina and Jos Steel Rolling Mills without

rail links

• Construction and setting up of Industrial Estates such as Agbara Estate in Ogun

State; Ikeja Industrial Estate in Lagos State; Port Harcourt and Kaduna Industrial

Centres; all without rail link

• Except Ijora Jetty in Lagos, no other water-way is rail-linked for inter-modal

passenger services.

In the country as a whole, the picture is as follows: Hadejia, Kano, Gusau, Minna, Ilorin,

Oshogbo, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Ikeja are linked by railways from south – west up north while

Maiduguri, Gombe, Bauchi, Jos, Lafia, Makurdi, Enugu, Umuahia, Port-Harcourt are

linked by the Railways from south – east up north. But the following state capitals are not

connected by the railways: Calabar, Uyo, Yenagoa, Benin, Asaba, Akure, Ado-Ekiti,

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Owerri, Abakaliki, Lokoja, Birnin Kebbi, Sokoto, Jalingo, Yola, Damaturu and Awka.

None of the airports is connected to the railways. Only 19 out of the 36 states are served

by the railway while the Federal Capital is yet to be connected by the Railways (Edward,

2001).

However, Lagos State seems set for the actualization of an integrated mass transit system,

with the phased implementation of the Lagos Urban Transport Project, a World Bank-

assisted initiative for the transformation of the decrepit Lagos State transport system. A

vital part of the project is the establishment of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport

Authority (LAMATA), a private sector-driven entity for the better management of the

Lagos transport sector (Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, 2004).

Essentially, LAMATA is working on integrated transport services, which accommodate the

land, water and rail modes of transport.

Inter-modality

Inter-modality is a concept that can be thought of as a process of transporting passengers

and freight by means of a system of interconnected networks, involving combination of

modes of transport, in which all the component parts are seamlessly linked and efficiently

coordinated (URL1). Inter-modal transport is rapidly gaining acceptance as an integral

component of system approach to conducting business in an increasingly competitive and

interdependent global economy.

The competition between the modes has tended to produce a transport system that is

unintegrated in which each mode has sought to exploit its own advantage in terms of

service, cost, safety and reliability. The lack of integration between the modes has been

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accentuated by public policy that has frequently barred companies from owning firms in

other modes.

Inter-modality enables economies of scale within a transport system where modes are used

in the most productive manner. Techniques for transferring freight from one mode to

another have facilitated inter-modal transfers. While handling technology has influenced

the development of inter-modalism, the most important factors have been the changes in

public policy and development in information technology. The economic basis for inter-

modality is that transport modes that display favorable economic and operational

characteristics individually can be integrated into a door to door transport chain in order to

improve the overall efficiency of the transport system. Globally, since the 1960s major

efforts have been made to integrate separate transport systems through inter-modalism.

Inter-modal coordination of public transport services is most feasible in three ways, namely

routing (e.g. rail/bus or taxi/bus linkages), scheduling of timetables of different modes (to

reduce passengers’ waiting time in changing from one mode to another), and in fare

structures, through the use of travel cards, seasons tickets or zonal fare tickets which are

sold at properly located centres so as to reduce passengers’ boarding time as well as

avoiding the problems of unreliable ticketing machines or mal-handling of funds collected

by bus conductors (Onakomaiya, 1993).

Key Features of Inter-modalism

The key features of inter-modalism are:

• Door-to-door shipping

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 • Absence of modal barriers

• Seamless transport system

• Ease of data handling, processing and distribution

• Safe, reliable and cost effective control of freight and passenger movements

• Use of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) - an evolving technology that is helping

companies and government agencies cope with an increasingly complex global

transport system.

• The type and characteristic of the vehicles and terminals

• Facilitation of medium and long-haul freight flows across the globe

• Single document transaction (URL 2).

However, the most important feature of inter-modalism is the provision of a service with

one ticket (for passengers) or one bill of lading (for freight). This has necessitated a

revolution in organization and information control.

Inter-modal transport system in Lagos state

With the formal relocation of the seat of the Federal Government to Abuja on 12th

December 1991, Lagos ceased to be Nigeria’s political capital. Nevertheless, Lagos

remains the nation’s commercial capital. The current population of Lagos state is variously

estimated at between 12.8 and 15.0 million, and it is expected that growth will continue at

the current rate of nearly 6% per annum (World Bank, 2002). The metropolitan area of

Lagos is also rapidly increasing, now extending beyond the Lagos State boundary into the

neighbouring state of Ogun in the north. As a result, passenger trips are growing in length

as well as number.

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According to World Bank (2002), the total two-way passenger traffic crossing the three

bridges between the mainland and Lagos Island in 2001 was 1.59 million per day of which

77% were public transport passengers. This represents an annual overall growth in

passenger demand over the last decade of about 3.4% per annum. Also, the growth in

public transport trips was 5.0% per annum with a decline in large buses (molue)

passengers’ trips to about 2.9% per annum and taxi trips to about 5.5% per annum.

However trips made by minibuses (danfos) have increased dramatically by 17.2% per

annum. Car trips have shown a slight decrease of 1.1%. Travel by non-bus public transport

(rail and water transport) has declined to less than 1.0% despite their considerable potential.

Public transport accounts for more than 80% of passenger travel and its dominant role is

expected to continue in future. However, its provision suffers from (1) lack of appropriate

regulatory framework leading to a fragmentized, unorganized provision of services which

contributes to traffic congestion and an adverse image for bus operators;(2) inadequate

infrastructure including road network and interchange facilities which significantly reduce

route productivity and thus profitability; and (3) insufficient financial capacity of the

private operators to renew their fleet arising from a combination of rapidly increasing costs

of vehicles and spare parts due to inflation and adverse foreign exchange movements, high

cost and unavailability of credit, and bus fares that have rapidly declined in real terms.

These unfavorable operating conditions have resulted in an aging fleet that is unsafe,

polluting and provides a low level of service.

Other public transport modes such as water and rail are under utilized restricting the

development of an integrated transport system. An existing rail corridor, well located, has

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the potential to serve a major transport demand axis; however rail services are almost

nonexistent due to the endemic management problems of the Nigerian Railway Corporation

over the last three decades. Although all the railway stations along the rail route in Lagos

are linked to a nearby bus stop or motor park but none of the rail stations is connected to

the airport. Furthermore, only one rail station in Lagos (Apapa Quay) is linked to the

seaport (Apapa port) while the other seaports in Lagos are not connected to the railway.

This shows a very poor level of inter-modal linkages between the various transport modes

in Lagos state (See Figure 1).

Figure 1: The State of Inter-modal Transport System in Lagos

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However, LAMATA has unfolded a comprehensive transport arrangement aimed at linking

every part of Lagos state through a rail network (Aborisade, 2006). Also, LAMATA

recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigerian Railway Corporation

to run a light rail service between Iddo and Alagbado with future extension to Lagos Island

and Ijoko in Ogun State on its corridor to solve some of the challenges faced by the

estimated 5 million commuters coming into Lagos daily (URL 3). Rail mass transit is

needed now, more so that the present modes of transport in Lagos cannot cope with the

present passengers’ demand.

To achieve successful Inter-modalism and Integrated Transport system in Lagos:

• Natural/artificial transshipment hubs must emerge

• Government Policy must support this

• Public-Private Partnership must be encouraged

• Enabling environment must be created and sustained

• Core and augmented services must be provided by operators

In addition, for an integrated transport system in Lagos State, there is the need to:

• Define the need of the transport users

• Carry out an economic, financial and technical feasibility study including market

demand analysis for integrated transport in Lagos

• Review extant public policy to integrate separate transport systems

• Carry out sector reforms, deregulate and liberalize the transport sub-sectors

• Incorporate a private sector development plan to maximize private sector

investment in both infrastructure development and operations

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 • Carry out socio-economic and environmental impact assessment of the development

of transport infrastructure and

• Carry out strategic marketing plan to increase modal share

Nonetheless, Lagos State is about adopting a Transport Master Plan for Lagos which

envisages a multi-modal transport system that will utilize a mixture of light rail and metro,

bus rapid transit and water transit systems, all to be complemented by a franchised bus

services system and major institutional reforms (LAMATA, 2006).

Conclusion

Past studies have shown that a major cause of transport problems in Lagos is the

underutilization of public transport modes such as rail and water, thus restricting the

development of an integrated transport system (Adefolalu, 1993). Consequently, there is

the need to implement a world-class inter-modal transport system in Lagos State.

In developing an integrated transport system for Lagos, there is the need to pursue a well

defined strategic plan of action driven by social and economic needs of Lagosians.

Additionally, considering the population growth trend of Lagos, modern and efficient

railway system properly integrated with other modes of transport is required for an even

socio-economic growth.

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