CEM REPORT, PRODUCTIVITY | The time spent getting to work or place of business on a daily basis is a major determining factor in the productivity at work or in the hustle and bustle of an average Nigerian especially Lagosians. Although traffic has become a given yet remains a challenge. Commuters in Lagos have identified traffic congestion as their greatest challenge in living and working in Lagos.
A recent report reveals that commuter spends an average of two hours to get to work each day, which is disrupting productivity.
A report, tagged ‘Behavioural Causes of Traffic Congestion in Lagos’, by the Danne Institute for Research, despite having a population of 21 million, Lagos is not seeing corresponding productivity due to poor connectivity that kills man-hours of traffic jams experienced by residents in the state.
The report revealed that Lagosians spend an average of 2.21 hours on the road to get to work each day while 45 percent of the respondents spend more than two hours to get to work. The worst hit are people who live in the Ajah, Eti-Osa, and Apapa areas of Lagos compared to those who commute from Surulere and Yaba.
Commenting on the report, the Executive Director of Danne Institute for Research, Franca Ovadje, noted that connectivity is very important for productivity because spending less time in traffic would create time for work and also reduce stress as well as health risks.
She said that while traffic congestion in Lagos is behavioural, bad road infrastructure, activities of agberos at the bus stops, and buses picking passengers are some of the biggest contributors to traffic congestion in the state.
“Interestingly, 35 per cent of our respondents said their number one challenge in living and working in Lagos is the traffic congestion. We also found that the top three main causes of traffic congestion in Lagos are behavioural. These include bad road infrastructure, disregard for traffic laws, activities of agberos at the bus stops, and buses picking passengers.
While calling on the Lagos State Government to construct, repair, and maintain roads as a means to prevent traffic jams, it advised that road construction and repairs should be done at night and alternative roads created during the construction period.
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“There is a need for strict penalties and more LASTMA officials should be employed to manage traffic more effectively, more policemen deployed and even soldiers deployed to the roads.
“For Lagos to become a livable city of civilised people, restoring discipline and sanity to Lagos roads is imperative. A massive campaign should be initiated against the touts who harass commuters, and sellers on the roadside. It is also important to discipline the disciplinarian, especially the traffic wardens and policemen that collect bribes,” it added.
Ovadje noted that Lagos will make a lot of internally generated revenue from enforcing traffic laws in the state.
