- LASG said it is leveraging technology to reposition transportation
By Adeyinka Aderibigbe
The Federal Government will continue to encourage subnational governments to promote intermodal forms of transportation because of its ability to enhance economic growth, and social welfare, the Minister of State for Transportation Sen. Gbemisola Saraki has said.
Saraki, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation Dr. Magdalene Ajani stated this at the maiden edition of the National Transport Technology Conference and Exhibition (NTTCE), hosted by the Lagos State Government at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos.
She spoke just as the Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said Lagos State will continue to leverage technology to reposition public transportation in the state.
He said efforts are ongoing to integrate road, rail and water modes of transportation to enhance seamless movement of people, goods and services.
Represented by the Secretary to State Government Mrs Folashade Jaji, Sanwo-Olu said the state would be establishing the Inland Waterways Monitoring and Data Management Centre (WMDMC), the first of its kind in West Africa, which when completed will be able to track waterways activities in terms safety and security of lives and property as well as command and rescue exercise on the waterways.
He spoke to Transportation Commissioners nationwide, heads of inter-ministerial transport agencies, investors, organised private sector and members of the academia, who had gathered in Lagos to learn how the state has been able to achieve inter-modality of transportation in the state.
Sanwo-Olu speaking on the theme: Multimodality and interconnectivity: achieving an efficient and greener transport system in Nigeria noted that because of its strategic life changing impact, every nation must set aside a part of its budget for the funding on technological inventions, especially in the transportation sector.
According to the governor, besides its commitment to the completion of the Blue and Red rail line system, in managing the road transportation, intelligent signal lights has been brought solutions to traffic prone junctions, while the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology which has been deployed across the state has improved compliance rate of vehicle documentation, while traffic management solution (TMS) has resuced human interface on traffic law violations, while the state can boast of enhanced vehicle road worthiness through the use of computerized vehicle inspection centres.
Still on the deployment of technology, Sanwo-Olu said the introduction of Cowry card payment system have centralized payment across all modes of transportation which would allow commuters travel within the state and pay the fare with the same card.
Sen. Saraki commended the Forum of Transportation Commissioners for coming up with the platform that would forge a synergy between the public and the private sector to reposition the nation’s transportation sector.
Saraki said the theme of the conference is apt as it can provide accessibility; promote social welfare and resource management. She said multimodal transportation mode can provide an array of options for connecting people, goods and services for economic growth.
She said the Federal Ministry of Transportation is working on promoting a new greener transportation and a culture of low carbon emission, even as she said the FMOT is working at coming up with a policy to promote non motorized transport system in the country.
The Keynote speaker, Prof. Iyiola Oni, commended Lagos State for deliberately promoting public sector transportation arguing that when it is fully on stream, it would contribute immensely to carbon emission reduction, efficiency, safety and cost efficiency.
Speaking on interconnectivity and intermodality, of transport modes, Oni argued that all levels of government must work together to improve the travel experience of Nigerians. He said the sector is congested by overdependence on cars (unimodal system), and high level of informal sector occasioned by okada and tricycle operators.
He challenged the host state, who has rekindled rail line construction to also consider reintroducing trams for intracity train mobility in Lagos State.
Earlier, the host Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde said the government would continue to invest massively on road mode of transportation, which would be complemented by train, and waterways expansion.
In his goodwill remarks, the Corps Marshal of the Federal Roads Safety Corps Dr Boboye Oyeyemi said mush as intermodality and interconnectivity remains the way to go, the key driver for seamless operation and sustainability is greater interagency cooperation and collaboration which would make positive impact on governments’ investment in transportation.
Oyeyemi also commended the Federal Ministry of Transportation for efforts being made to berth a National Transportation Policy. He argued that once in place, the policy would be able to galvanise all levels of government to work for the seamless intermodal transportation.
The Chairman Forum of Transportation Commissioners Ramatu Mohammed said the commissioners put the forum together folowing their resolve last year to explore emerging trends in the global transportation space in their various domains.
Mohammed who is marking her last day in office as she has been reassigned a new portfolio in Niger State, commended the Lagos State government for leading the park in initiatives aimed at making commuting less stressful for the people.