On the Buses - A Personal Trip on Lagos BRT

One of my concerns about governance in sub-Saharan Africa is the huge disconnect between the leaders of our countries and the people they govern. I call it the 'democracy upside down'. It's the democracy I define as 'the government for the people by the people avoiding the people'. In one quick phrase, the leaders don't govern in the public interest. Indeed, the truth is that the governors in most African countries do not use the services for which they are making policy. In the more common cases, most top functionaries educate their children in elite schools overseas, use medical services in these countries and do their tourism away from the continent.

Nowhere is the disconnect I mention more prominent than in the transportation sector. While everyone may use the public roads, they use them in different ways. Evidently, the poor in Africa travel about using privately-provided forms of public transport enduring bad roads in very unsafe and dangerous vehicles and low quality of life. Car-ownership thus becomes a deathly aspiration as it is seen as the ultimate escape from sharing public transport with the 'wretched of the earth'. It is not a surprise that as people move higher the social notch, personal use of public transport - Danfo or Molue - in Nigeria or Kenya's  Matatu, almost certainly becomes a thing of the past. This abandonment may be of crucial benefit to entrepreneurs and active professionals whose work quality is raised by more efficient time-management. The downside to this trend is that it cements the disconnect between the elite and the poor in a way that affects the democratic foundations of government policy

Fortunately, sub-Saharan African governments are taking steps to improve the standard of public transport across the continent. For the first time, in many decades, business, professional and government employees are having first-hand experience of using a regulated bus service in their cities. 

A classic case is the Lagos Bus Rapid Transit http://www.lamata-ng.com/brt.htm.

I had the privilege of using the Lagos BRT during my recent visit to Lagos last month. I recommend it wholesomely to anyone travelling in Lagos along the BRT corridor. On the day in question, I had the ready-made offer of being driven to Lagos Island in an air-conditioned car. Personally, I had an idea how long the journey would take at 10 a.m but, as with anything in Lagos, the expected 20 minute trip and its return was not predictable. I might not get back to Ikeja in six hours! I asked my driver to drop me off at Maryland BRT Stop. I bought my one-way ticket for 120 Naira [about UK 40 pence]. A blue BRT bus duly turned up after three minutes and I hopped on. The Bus Captain checked my ticket and I went to find a seat. The bus was clean and the seats and other furniture were intact. I was impressed with the driver's skills as I enjoyed the scenery from the dedicated lane. As the bus swept past the exotic SUVs and other vehicles, I noticed that all occupants in the bus were people who would normally have ridden on dilapidated vehicles because they had no choice.There was a young man fiddling with an iPad. Interesting.

Apart from a short delay stuck behind another BRT bus at Palmgrove, the journey was smooth and I arrived at CMS 27 minutes later, refreshed and happy at the money I had saved. Had I chosen to hire a red cab or other taxi, I would have paid anything between 2500 Naira [UK £10 and 4000 Naira [UK £17] for the same trip. The journey time would have been comparable.

I left the BRT at CMS BRT Bus Stop and crossed over to my destination using the footbridge by the marina. Returning to Maryland, I took the BRT again and made the journey in 24 minutes.. Total cost for both journeys: 240 Naira [less than £1]. That's what I call value for money. When I reported my experience to my associates, they typically expressed shock that I had done a thing like that, insinuating that I had free time on my hands and unduly risked my personal safety! Yet, they could not deny that what I did was perfectly sensible. I actually mentioned that it was thought to be so safe that one person actually was using an iPad on the bus. I found out he was an Engineer with Shell, the oil giant. The cynicism was compounded by underlying political antagonism and reference to the 'background'of the BRT drivers as 'former Molue drivers'.

My summation:

1. The Nigeria elite, like their counterparts across the continent turn up their noses at public institutions.

2. Travelling around your city, using the means used by ordinary citizens - on a regular basis - is a sound way of engaging with policy impact.

3. Out with government 'official' cars and escorts. Take the bus to work and other places and experience if your policy is working. If you don't like it, others won't.

Thankfully, there are more high-capacity transportation projectshttp://www.reavaya.org.za/ coming up across the continent. When the elite realise how much time their poorer citizens are saving by their travel on public transport with improved work-life balance, perhaps they too will get out of their SUVs and learn to relax on the metro. That'll be the day!

Keep moving - Africa is moving!