Water Transportation Will Ease Traffic Congestion – LASG

In demonstration of its com­mitment to a multimodal transport system aimed at tackling traffic gridlocks in the metropolis, the Lagos State government has urged Lagosians to embrace the unlimited possibilities in water transportation to ease incessant traffic gridlock in the state.

Abdoulbaq Ladi Balogun, managing director, Lagos Ferry Services (LAGFER­RY), disclosed this in Lagos at the weekend in his New Year message to commut­ers.

While mapping out LAG­FERRY’s operational strat­egies for the year 2021, Ba­logun stated that Lagosians would witness a lot of trans­formation in water trans­portation this year. He add­ed that arrangements have been concluded by the state government to increase the boat fleet to 20.

Balogun assured that his agency would reciprocate government’s huge invest­ment in water transpor­tation with improved and efficient service delivery to the residents this year.

The LAGFERY boss, while wishing the residents a more prosperous New Year, urged them to consid­er water transportation as a possible alternative mode that is fast, seamless, safe and reliable, adding that the first quarter of 2021 would witness a lot of transforma­tion in water transportation operations in the state.

“I urge you to stay tuned and expect more remark­able giant strides in water transportation in the first quarter of the year as the agency takes delivery of ad­ditional world-class state-of-the-art boats to increase our fleets to 20 and our capacity to meet the ever-increasing demands,” he stated.

Balogun, while com­mending the Babajide San­wo-Olu administration for its unwavering support and commitment to intermodal transportation system in the state with huge investment in water transportation, informed that LAGFERRY achieved unprecedented milestones in its opera­tions in the last one year by commuting over 200,000 passengers within 150 days of operation in 2020.

He noted that the agen­cy would have done better if not for the interruptions caused by the Covid–19 pandemic and ENDSARS protest.

“Notable among the achievements and huge milestones recorded by LAGFERRY was expanding services to Epe, Badagry, Agbowa-Ikosi, Agbara and Ibeju-Lekki, contributing to 38% of the water transpor­tation index to the transpor­tation matrix of the state, improved water transporta­tion contribution to Lagos GDP from 0.2% to 0.8%, pay­ing high premium to safety and achieving accident free record,” he enthused.