Lagos State government is thinking outside the box by introducing cable cars as a way of addressing its chronic transport crisis. We need more such lateral thinking

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Kudos to the Lagos State government for showing unprecedented initiative and launching a cable car transportation system estimated to cost $500m. Lagos metropolis must have the worst transport crisis of any city in the world

[2] With its population of 16.5m, Lagos has got to the only city of such size without an urban metro underground network. Chronic problems require radical solutions and I am glad to see that we appear to at least be on the way

[3] This Lagos cable cars project has received funding from various sources, including $20m worth of investment from the Clean Technology Fund and an expected $274m million in co-financing to come from bilateral sources

[4] This cable car system is expected to have a capacity of 5,000 passengers per hour per direction, with fares estimated to be between 100 naira and 300 naira

[5] Clearly, to be effective, the cable car needs to be augmented by the completed Lagos Metro with all five lines working at full capacity. Red, blue, green, purple and orange lines all need to be fully up and running with a train at least once an hour

[6] This then needs to be backed up with a Lagos Underground Network. We need both overland and underground networks if we are serious about keeping Lagos moving

[7] US-style yellow school buses also need to be introduced for school pupils. It is disgraceful that school children are queuing at bus stops as early as 6am across Lagos

[8] I am looking at one of the most ambitious urban transport networks ever, involving about 200 stations across some 400 square kilometres. Overland trains, underground tubes, school buses, cable cars and river transport too. We should aim to create some 2m jobs from this

[9] Maybe Governor Babajide Sanwoolu should appoint someone like Babatunde Gbadamosi to head the Lagos Underground and Railway Development Fund. His mandate will be to hound every investor worldwide to find the funding for the project. No excuses please. Everyone, including George Soros, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Alan Sugar, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Ma, Ma Huateng, Elon Musk, etc must be contacted. Even if this project costs $100bn, we must find the capital

[10] As the icing on the cake, we should also woo a motorcycle manufacturer like Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki or Triumph to open a mega plant in Lagos. In a bid to combat motorcycle crime, our contract will include a clause compelling them to churn out machines that can be disabled remotely. We will then pass laws that empower the police to disable any motorcycle if necessary

ayoakinfe@gmail.com