Report: Lagos residents waste six years of their expected life span in traffic
- It is no longer news, Lagos is one of the most difficult place to commute in a private car or public bus
- What is new is the number of years Lagosians are losing while in traffic from work and from school
- Based on a calculation from a research firm at least six years of Lagosians life are spent in traffic
Every Lagos resident would have spent over six years in traffic by the time they clock 55 years, a new report by the Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) Limited, has indicated.
The state has one of the worst traffic gridlocks in the world, as commuters spend hours on the road, losing a significant part of their productive time before arriving at their destinations Thisday reports.
FDC, led by Nigerian economist Bismarck Rewane, also highlighted in its latest report published this month the economic outlook for 2022.
Source: Facebook
In 2020, life expectancy at birth for Nigeria was 55.02 years.
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The Lagos-based research and investment firm stated that while Lagos residents spent 1,080 hours in traffic a year, residents of London, which is said to have the highest congestion in the world, spent about 148 hours.
The report stated:
“Lagosians are spending approximately 1,080 hours a year in traffic, compared to 148 hours in London, the city with the worst traffic jams in the world (excluding Nigeria and Egypt).
“This comes to 12.5 per cent of the time in a year. It also translates to 6.76 years in a life expectancy of 55 years.”
The report noted that compared to Lagos’ 1,080 hours, residents of Paris spend 140 hours in traffic, Brussels (134), Palermo (109), Moscow (108), Rome (107), Chicago (104), Lyon (102), New York (102), and Bucharest (98).
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Despite efforts by successive governments to solve the traffic challenge in Lagos, there has been no major breakthrough, as residents languish for hours in the intractable hold-ups, wasting several man-hours.
Solutions
Research organisations, like SBM Intelligence, had suggested an upgrade of the infrastructure in the water transport sector to encourage commuters to patronise boats and ferries to reduce the perennial traffic congestion in Lagos.
Other studies had advocated a mass movement mode of transportation, like the rail system, to move people in one of the world’s most populated cities.
Woman controls traffic in the rain
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the video of a woman controlling traffic despite a heavy downpour in Kwara state has stirred massive reactions on social media.
In the clip, the woman abandoned her shelter, stepped into the rain, and worked energetically to ease traffic on the road. As the traffic warden worked with so much passion, she kept checking her time.
The result of her work was evident as traffic on every part of the road kept moving seamlessly despite the heavy rain.
Source: Legit.ng
