In ancient times, in addition to the use of animals such as donkeys, camels, and horses for transportation and / or carriage facilitators, some wealthy individuals used Bicycles to move from one point to another. There may be one or two people who have the resources to buy bicycles at that time in a village.

However, when civilization came, the use of the bicycle as a pleasure ride was jettisoned due to the fact that it was not as fast as the new invention – the automobile. The facilities that are enjoyed in a car are not available in any bicycle as the size that allows more than 1 or 2 people on board. It has a roof that provides shelter from both the sun and the rain in its seasons. Your exposure to risks like accidents is also minimal compared to the bicycle which is exposed to many dangers.

Traffic congestion on our roads where Lagos residents are subject to traffic jams for a minimum of 2 hours, both in the mornings on their way to offices / markets / shops and when they return at night, leaves much to be desired. In an attempt to stop the unpleasant situation, the state government decided to create exclusive lanes on the main highways of the state, acquired new state-of-the-art luxury buses that take passengers from one place to another with duly regulated travel. resulting in a trip from Ketu to the CMS terminals, for example, taking no more than 30 minutes on average. So far, the government has recorded some successes with this innovation, but there is still a lot to do because we still experience heavy traffic in the non-exclusive lanes and this requires some serious exit thinking. All hands must be on deck.

The next area that I would like the government to examine is the possibility of encouraging the inhabitants of Lagos to start using the bicycle as a means of transportation in the state, with consequent benefits for the physical and economic aspects of our being.

However, as can be obtained with each undertaking / process / endeavor in life with advantages that must have disadvantages, the bicycle as a means of transport in our urban cities despite its exposure to accidental risks on the roads and / or intraways has many advantages that far from the disadvantages. They can be classified into physical / health, economic and environmental benefits.

Physical / health benefit

The physical benefits of cycling as a means of transportation in our urban cities could be in the form of physical fitness. The fact that most of the bicycles used in this part of the world are manually operated serves as a form of exercise for the rider in which unnecessary fats are burned from the body, thus ensuring that they are in good physical shape. This further extends to stability of mind and soul. A healthy mind will always be ready to fulfill any assigned duty effectively and efficiently due to its physical and mental fitness.

Economic benefit

1. The economy of any state is guaranteed by the effectiveness and efficiency of the provision of services within the various organs of its system. Wherever time is wasted, that economy loses a lot of money. The bicycle as a means of transport will ensure that there is little or no traffic jam on our roads; people will be able to execute their business plans without stress on the roads, as has been experienced for many decades with thousands of motor vehicles heading to the same location at the same time.

2. The cost of purchasing a bicycle is much cheaper and more affordable than the cost of owning a car. It is equally cheaper to maintain a bicycle than a car. In the same way, there is an opportunity for lower class people to own a motor / mobility machine such as a bicycle more easily than a car that facilitates their movement in and around the city.

3. Bicycle owners no longer have to worry about fuel, especially when there is a fuel shortage.

4. Bicycles require little or no serious maintenance compared to cars that need regular engine maintenance and tune-up at least two to three times a year.

5. The spaces occupied by bicycles are so minimal that 8 to 10 bicycles can be parked in a space for one car (ie a space of approximately 7.2 m2). This means that more people conduct business in the city of Lagos without being anxious about how to get transportation back to their destinations at the end of the day.

6. Children are not left out of this endless list of benefits in the sense that parents can afford to buy them bikes without much effort in their wallets. They are allowed access to the roads even before their 18th birthday (allowed by law to drive a car) under the close supervision of parents.

Environmental benefit

Riding a bicycle on our roads will prevent the uncontrollable emission of carbon monoxide, CO from thousands of vehicles that circulate on our roads every day. This poisonous gas is dangerous to the health of our people and has always contributed to the high death rate in society. The same is true of the effect of CO on the ozone layer in the sky.

TO DO LIST

To be successful in the proposed system, the Lagos State government must implement some measures that address the dangers inherent in cycling on our roads. The benefits, while numerous and plausible, will become nil if the Government refuses to guarantee the following:

1. As achievable with the BRT lanes that are dedicated to government buses on most of our major highways, the government must create dedicated bike lanes to avoid collisions with motorized vehicles.

2. The government should enact laws that require cyclists to wear protective helmets before undertaking any trip with their bicycles.

3. Execution of the “right of way” section of the traffic code to ensure that other road users obey the code at our “roundabouts” and “junctions” at all times.

Given the above, the roads in Lagos will be very safe and we will all be proud to be part of the Lagos flat. Then, Lagos will be a state of LONGEVITY AND GOOD HEALTH.

Eko o ni go down oooooooooooooo!