'Like Lagos, other cities should have BRT buses'

A professor of transport geography, Emman Funlayo Ogunbodede, has called on government at all levels to focus on building infrastructures to address the problem of inefficient transport services and inadequate transportation in the urban space.


Ogunbodede made the call while delivering the 10th Inaugural Lecture of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria, entitled, ‘Trading space for a Cost: A Transport Geographer’s View’. The professor said, “As human beings grow, so, also, the urban space records growth and development. Hence, transport infrastructural needs, at any point in time, must be pursued vigorously by government at all levels to reduce transportation problems in our urban space. “Importantly, too, and as much as possible, we must not allow political decisions to override planning decisions, if we want to ensure adequate and efficient mobility in our cities.”

 He asked government to encourage the construction of circular roads in cities with over two million populations in order to aid efficient distribution of traffic within the urban centres According to him, the movement of traffic that are not destined for the city centre should be diverted to circular roads or bye-passes with a view to assisting to distribute traffic not meant for the city centre to the periphery.

The don emphasised the need for para-transit or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on some routes, especially the ones that link up commercial and public land uses to residential zones of the city, as is currently doing in Lagos. He added that bus priority routes are made an integral part of the road transport infrastructure in Nigerian cities with over 2 million people, while road transport infrastructures and complimentary facilities’ development should be phased out and made to coincide with vehicular and spatial growth of settlements.

The don emphasized the need for para-transit or Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, on some routes, especially the ones that link up both commercial and public land uses to residential zones of the city. This according to him, would go a long way to reduce congestion in some routes and also reduce waiting time at bus stops to such zones.