The constant energy in the city coupled with numerous opportunities to be on top of your career and business makes Lagos one of the most desirable cities to live in.
The constant thrill of activities, events and celebration means the roads are always occupied with cars, buses and bikes trying to get to one destination or the other.
Regardless of the glitz and glamour associated with the mega-city, everyone dreads one thing, Traffic.
Lagos is known to have the highest rate of traffic in Nigeria. Housing the largest population in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, Lagos has a landmass of 1,171 km2 the city is prone to constant traffic.
The large population means more people own personal vehicles, this results in more vehicles on the road and this births the much dreaded Lagos traffic.
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The constant increase of public transport systems both by the state and individuals have also resulted in more vehicles on the road. The raise of cab-hailing services like Uber, Bolt and a couple of others has also contributed to the number of cars on the road.
The roads in the Megacity is nothing of pride. Portholes are constant when driving on the road. This has led to restricted movements of vehicles.
Drivers trying to manoeuvre these portholes end up slowing down the flow of traffic and most times if a car breaks down, which usually happens more often than not, the movement of vehicles is brought to a standstill.
Road constructions are Lagosians nightmare, the starting and non-completion of roads only make it difficult for the free flow of traffic. The halt of road constructions by construction companies still remains a mystery. Work seems to commence for the first few months, then suddenly work stops and the project is abandoned.
Waking up early as 5 am every weekday to arrive work on time in order to avoid the stern look from the HR department is something a typical Lagosian is used to.
The irony of it all is that everyone tries to beat traffic and everyone ends up in exactly what they tried to avoid. People get home as so late and leave so early it leaves little time for other personal activities.
Parents hardly see their children and vice versa. It becomes difficult to run side businesses and a lot of productive time is spent in traffic. For a city so small it takes a lot of time to move from one point to another.
An improved public transport system would go a long way in improving the traffic situation. With more comfortable and attractive big buses not metals with woods and engine on the road the more people are taken out of their personal cars and the more space there is on the road.
Completion of abandoned road projects and fixing of bad roads would go a long way in improving the traffic situation. Also, the government should explore other means of transportation like the inland waterways and rails. The exploration of these options would enable people to get home early to their kids and loved ones.
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