This post is dedicated to my father who is always interested in mechanical things and, thus, always asking me about how I'm "getting around." For the rest of you, discussing the many modes of transportation in Lagos may not seem that interesting at first but, trust me, this is not your average Western time-tables-and-organized-bus-stops kind of a situation.
During the week, I am ferried from home to my part-time "job" or the office in a Mercedes Benz. It sounds fancy, I know, but consider first that this particular vehicle, circa 1980-something, is falling apart due to the general abuses of Nigerian roads and drivers. As I have mentioned before, the A/C unit is broken and thus, when driving about in 90 degree + heat, we use "Nigerian A/C" which involves rolling all the windows down for a chance at a partially-fresh-mostly-polluted gust of warm air coming into the car. Beyond this, which some might consider little more than a personal comfort issue, the car seems to intensely dislike running at 5- 10 mph consistently for more than an hour and so, during the inevitable traffic jams either to or from work, it stalls out at least a handful of times and has to be switched off and restarted a few times before the engine catches and we can move forward again. Finally, our car is a rather hideous shade of maroon-ish purple and I am convinced that this in combination with the generally poor driving practices of most mainland- Nigerians makes us a target. We've be scraped and bumped by several other cars and motorcycles and, earlier this week, a passing motorcycle knocked the driver's side mirror clean off the side of the car without so much as an '"I'm sorry, my bad" courtesy wave.
On the weekends, this de-luxe vehicle is "off-limits" and so it is up to us to suffer through calling an air-conditioned cab with a polite driver who will take us wherever we want to go. Of course, unlike riding in the maroon Mercedes, we actually have to pay for the cab but, for roughly $7 per person, the hour and 1/2 ride to Victoria Island (and every luxury we could think of) is pretty darn affordable. Of course... in Lagos there are different kinds of cabs. We prefer the slightly-more-expensive-yet-considerably-more-comfortable-and-safe Red Cabs which are regulated by the government and thus less likely to have drivers who drive like morons (a surprisingly common occurrence in Lagos in general) or kidnap us.
The other alternative in the cab world are the Yellow Cabs. Here again there are subtle yet important differences - Yellow Cabs with a multi-colored stripe over the top of their hood and roof tend to be better maintained than their stripe-less counterparts and, even though they're cheaper than the Red Cabs, they're still somewhat safer than the "other" Yellow Cabs. The other Yellow Cabs are about on par with if not worse than our maroon Mercedes and all seem to be in various stages of falling apart and, indeed, many of them frequently seem to lose parts or break down in the middle of traffic. Coupled with the frightening fact that many of these "other" Yellow Cab drivers are aggressive in both their driving and their treatment of their passengers, I try to avoid taking these at all costs.
Although I certainly prefer the "car" variety of transportation, most Nigerians operate on a tighter budget and are therefore left with other, more cost effective modes of transportation.
The first and what I assume most luxurious way to travel around Lagos on a budget is on one of the Big Red/ Blue Buses which are, again, government regulated an thus fairly well maintained. They even have their own special lane on the highway so that, during busy traffic times (any time between 5 am and midnight), they can move along at a reasonable pace. Of course, many other people try to take advantage of these special lanes (especially on the bridges between the mainland and the Island) and so sometimes this isn't always as effective as it could be. In fact, in order to attempt to put an end to this lane stealing, the government has installed small lane walls on some sections of the freeway.
After the big blue and red buses, the next cheapest transport option is, most likely, the small yellow mini-buses which we used to call "bush taxis" in Niger. Although the ones here in Nigeria are, for the most part, in slightly better condition than the ones North of the border, they are driven so aggressively that one might assume that the drivers either have a death wish or believe themselves to be invincible. Although clearly an unsafe choice for someone unaccustomed to this style of driving, these mini-buses are a fairly popular transportation option with Nigerians and often times the road is taken up by an agitated herd of these mini buses jostling with a few yellow taxis for control.
Of course, of those people wishing to travel in a more individualized manner, there are plenty of tuk-tuks to be found. Nigerians call these "Napep"s and they have yellow ones - which can legally seat up to three (plus the driver), or green ones - which can legally seat up to four (plus the driver). As the yellow ones clearly outnumber the green ones, it is not altogether un-common to see a poor little tuk-tuk filled to the brim with people, produce, and animals (yes, I once saw someone bring a live chicken into one of these tiny little machines). Due to issues of power (and, I think, general comfort) it is my understanding that the Nigerian tuk-tuk is best suited to short distances when you have more friends with you than a motorcycle can reasonably accommodate.
And, of course, one cannot talk about transportation in Nigeria without mentioning motorcycles. In fact, someone told me the other day that motorcycles out number cars... and to drive the streets of Lagos, this doesn't surprise me at all. In Niger, we called them "Kabo- Kabos," in Nigeria they're called "Okadas" and, in any language, motorcycle taxis should be known as an absolutely insane way to travel anywhere. They constantly cut through traffic, between cars, between oil tankers, between each other and each Okada driver seems more intent than the rest on getting himself to his destination in the fastest possible time regardless of whether or not his passenger arrives alive. In fact, of the multiple accidents I've seen since being here, well over half have involved an Okada. One of my Nigerian co-workers told me that she would never ride an Okada herself unless she was certain she was about to miss a flight or a very important meeting. She claims their erratic driving is the result of gasoline as, she claims, groups of Okada drivers will do "shots of petrol" to prove their manliness to one another. She says that, if I absolutely MUST take an Okada, then I should choose one driven by an old man reasoning that an old man is likely to have children and, since he will likely want to see these children grow up, he is less likely to drive like a man high on gasoline. Although it may sound like quite a feat to find one such man, okada drivers tend to hang out in clusters on street corners or in high-traffic areas and in each group of young-and-crazy okada drivers, there is always at least one older man sitting slightly to the side and waiting patiently for his next sensible, safety conscious passenger to come along.
Aside from the wide range of street-based transportation options, Lagos also offers railway travel. Unfortunately, with only one line (straight from the outermost suburbs in the North to the heart of the city in the South), traveling by train isn't taken quite as seriously here as it is elsewhere in the world. Still, prices are affordable (or so I've heard) and, if you're lucky enough to live close to (or, in our case, right next to) the rail line, a cool ride on the top of a gently chugging locomotive beats the heck out of sitting in a 2 hour Lagos traffic jam.
In talking about transportation in Lagos... in fact, when discussing anything to do with Lagos at all...one cannot give enough emphasis to how absolutely outrageous traffic is here. And, as the population is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years, it is only going to get worse. However, I have to give credit where credit is due: the current governor of Lagos, Babtunde Raji Fashola has been busy as work designing and trying to put into effect an improved transportation system which includes expending the current 4-lane highway to a 10-lane highway as well as the construction of several new above-ground rail lines - the first of which seem to be constructed to run East-West... which is a start. I admire the intentions behind the project and think that, if carried off successfully, it will make a world of difference in how the people of Lagos do business and structure their lives. Of course, there's the minor issue of finding the space in which to construct something as large as a 10-lane highway .... but never mind.
In the mean time, while Lagosians are waiting to be saved from their traffic nightmare, visitors and residents can expect to be greeted by okadas, nepeps, minibuses, taxis and buses... all merging together in a Nigerian sea of yellow, honking smog.
During the week, I am ferried from home to my part-time "job" or the office in a Mercedes Benz. It sounds fancy, I know, but consider first that this particular vehicle, circa 1980-something, is falling apart due to the general abuses of Nigerian roads and drivers. As I have mentioned before, the A/C unit is broken and thus, when driving about in 90 degree + heat, we use "Nigerian A/C" which involves rolling all the windows down for a chance at a partially-fresh-mostly-polluted gust of warm air coming into the car. Beyond this, which some might consider little more than a personal comfort issue, the car seems to intensely dislike running at 5- 10 mph consistently for more than an hour and so, during the inevitable traffic jams either to or from work, it stalls out at least a handful of times and has to be switched off and restarted a few times before the engine catches and we can move forward again. Finally, our car is a rather hideous shade of maroon-ish purple and I am convinced that this in combination with the generally poor driving practices of most mainland- Nigerians makes us a target. We've be scraped and bumped by several other cars and motorcycles and, earlier this week, a passing motorcycle knocked the driver's side mirror clean off the side of the car without so much as an '"I'm sorry, my bad" courtesy wave.
On the weekends, this de-luxe vehicle is "off-limits" and so it is up to us to suffer through calling an air-conditioned cab with a polite driver who will take us wherever we want to go. Of course, unlike riding in the maroon Mercedes, we actually have to pay for the cab but, for roughly $7 per person, the hour and 1/2 ride to Victoria Island (and every luxury we could think of) is pretty darn affordable. Of course... in Lagos there are different kinds of cabs. We prefer the slightly-more-expensive-yet-considerably-more-comfortable-and-safe Red Cabs which are regulated by the government and thus less likely to have drivers who drive like morons (a surprisingly common occurrence in Lagos in general) or kidnap us.
The other alternative in the cab world are the Yellow Cabs. Here again there are subtle yet important differences - Yellow Cabs with a multi-colored stripe over the top of their hood and roof tend to be better maintained than their stripe-less counterparts and, even though they're cheaper than the Red Cabs, they're still somewhat safer than the "other" Yellow Cabs. The other Yellow Cabs are about on par with if not worse than our maroon Mercedes and all seem to be in various stages of falling apart and, indeed, many of them frequently seem to lose parts or break down in the middle of traffic. Coupled with the frightening fact that many of these "other" Yellow Cab drivers are aggressive in both their driving and their treatment of their passengers, I try to avoid taking these at all costs.
Although I certainly prefer the "car" variety of transportation, most Nigerians operate on a tighter budget and are therefore left with other, more cost effective modes of transportation.
The first and what I assume most luxurious way to travel around Lagos on a budget is on one of the Big Red/ Blue Buses which are, again, government regulated an thus fairly well maintained. They even have their own special lane on the highway so that, during busy traffic times (any time between 5 am and midnight), they can move along at a reasonable pace. Of course, many other people try to take advantage of these special lanes (especially on the bridges between the mainland and the Island) and so sometimes this isn't always as effective as it could be. In fact, in order to attempt to put an end to this lane stealing, the government has installed small lane walls on some sections of the freeway.
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| A Blue Bus utilizing its special, walled lane |
After the big blue and red buses, the next cheapest transport option is, most likely, the small yellow mini-buses which we used to call "bush taxis" in Niger. Although the ones here in Nigeria are, for the most part, in slightly better condition than the ones North of the border, they are driven so aggressively that one might assume that the drivers either have a death wish or believe themselves to be invincible. Although clearly an unsafe choice for someone unaccustomed to this style of driving, these mini-buses are a fairly popular transportation option with Nigerians and often times the road is taken up by an agitated herd of these mini buses jostling with a few yellow taxis for control.
 |
| A single yellow mini-bus in a long line of other yellow mini buses |
Of course, of those people wishing to travel in a more individualized manner, there are plenty of tuk-tuks to be found. Nigerians call these "Napep"s and they have yellow ones - which can legally seat up to three (plus the driver), or green ones - which can legally seat up to four (plus the driver). As the yellow ones clearly outnumber the green ones, it is not altogether un-common to see a poor little tuk-tuk filled to the brim with people, produce, and animals (yes, I once saw someone bring a live chicken into one of these tiny little machines). Due to issues of power (and, I think, general comfort) it is my understanding that the Nigerian tuk-tuk is best suited to short distances when you have more friends with you than a motorcycle can reasonably accommodate.
 |
| A Nigerian tuk-tuk parked by an open Nigerian sewer |
And, of course, one cannot talk about transportation in Nigeria without mentioning motorcycles. In fact, someone told me the other day that motorcycles out number cars... and to drive the streets of Lagos, this doesn't surprise me at all. In Niger, we called them "Kabo- Kabos," in Nigeria they're called "Okadas" and, in any language, motorcycle taxis should be known as an absolutely insane way to travel anywhere. They constantly cut through traffic, between cars, between oil tankers, between each other and each Okada driver seems more intent than the rest on getting himself to his destination in the fastest possible time regardless of whether or not his passenger arrives alive. In fact, of the multiple accidents I've seen since being here, well over half have involved an Okada. One of my Nigerian co-workers told me that she would never ride an Okada herself unless she was certain she was about to miss a flight or a very important meeting. She claims their erratic driving is the result of gasoline as, she claims, groups of Okada drivers will do "shots of petrol" to prove their manliness to one another. She says that, if I absolutely MUST take an Okada, then I should choose one driven by an old man reasoning that an old man is likely to have children and, since he will likely want to see these children grow up, he is less likely to drive like a man high on gasoline. Although it may sound like quite a feat to find one such man, okada drivers tend to hang out in clusters on street corners or in high-traffic areas and in each group of young-and-crazy okada drivers, there is always at least one older man sitting slightly to the side and waiting patiently for his next sensible, safety conscious passenger to come along.
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| A group of okada bikes resting between death rides. |
Of course, the Nigerian government realizes that okadas, although cheap and therefore popular, are notoriously unsafe and, in order to try and fix their "machine of death" image, they have passed laws requiring both okada drivers and passengers to wear helmets for the entire okada journey. However, this law is only loosely followed in most cases. Some people choose not to fasten the helmet chin strap fear it to be dirty (it probably is), some people (especially women) don't want it to mess up their hair and so, rather than wear it on their heads, they hold it over their hair like a helmet-shaped umbrella, and, of course, some people don't wear the helmet at all. This is perhaps a great idea of a well-intentioned law failing to accomplish anything at all. .... well, except for maybe the sale of helmets.
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| Safety first! Always wear a helmet when driving against the flow of rush hour traffic |
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| Yes, in the highly likely event of a crash, the back of the bike will be well protected. Sadly, we can't say the same for your skull. |
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| Although not to the same scale, Nigerians seem to enjoy train travel in the Indian Style. |
In the mean time, while Lagosians are waiting to be saved from their traffic nightmare, visitors and residents can expect to be greeted by okadas, nepeps, minibuses, taxis and buses... all merging together in a Nigerian sea of yellow, honking smog.
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| A Lagos side street |
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