The Lagos State Government has intensified plans to introduce water taxis as part of a wider effort to ease transportation challenges and reduce pressure on major road corridors, particularly along the Lekki Epe axis.
Honourable Abdoulbaq Ladi Balogun, Managing Director, LAGFERRY disclosed this during a management retreat themed sustainable water transportation and the Lagos transport policy, where officials outlined the agency’s roadmap for expanding water based mobility.
Balogun said the initiative was anchored on the state’s transport policy introduced about three years ago, noting that the retreat was designed to align operations with long term sustainability goals.
“The Lagos State transport policy was launched about three years ago and it cuts across every arm of Lagos State transport model, particularly the public and the private sector,” he said.
“We are looking at the Lagos State transport policy, the effective implementation, and how far it has gone on the operational efficiency of Lagos State water transportation.”
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He explained that the retreat focused on strengthening manpower capacity to deliver on the state’s vision.
“This retreat in particular is to enhance and build on the capacity of our human resources, to let them know what it takes to move Lagos State transportation forward, particularly in the water transportation sector, and to see how we can commit to sustainable transport model going into the future and for the growth of the Lagos State economy,” he said.
On the proposed water taxi scheme, Balogun disclosed that deployment would begin along the Lekki Epe corridor to address persistent congestion.
“We are looking forward to, in the next couple of days, the commencement of Eko water taxi. Eko water taxi is going to be deployed along the Lekki Ekpe corridor to ensure that decongestion of traffic is achieved and to alleviate the suffering of people living on that axis and the businesses on that axis as well,” he said.
He added that the initiative is part of the ongoing effort to unlock the blue economy and reposition water transport as a primary mode of commuting.
“We are actually looking at the entire blue economy ecosystem and how we can take it in the last six years, sustaining the progress, not just sustaining the progress but scaling up sustainably to ensure that we are proactive in terms of environmental management, in terms of decarbonising emission and also the issue of safety,” he said.
“And also creating a culture of what we call water mania, people getting used to water transportation as a way of life instead of just seeing it as an alternative.”
Balogun further revealed that the agency was exploring additional innovations, including electric boats and cargo movement across waterways to reduce pressure on roads.
“Another thing that we are looking at is the introduction of electric boats and again we are looking at cargoing, the freighting of the waterways from Lekki, Apapa, Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry, so that we can actually reduce the burden of all these freighting businesses on the major roads in Lagos State,” he said.
Earlier, Director of Environment, Health, Safety and Quality at LAGFERRY, Samosa Taofeeq Olusoji, emphasised the agency’s commitment to passenger safety, describing it as central to its operations.
“By the name EHSQ and the S being for safety, we take care of our staff as well as the passengers in all ramifications in the aspect of safety. Safety of the boats, safety of the passengers in terms of their commuting in and out of the water, we take care of that,” he said.
He noted that LAGFERRY plays a critical role in the state’s integrated transport system, positioning water transport as a viable alternative to road travel.
“While it is integrated transportation, LAGFERRY keys in as the best alternative that can commute the citizens of Lagos State on Lagos waterways,” he said.
Olusoji also highlighted the agency’s growing contribution to the blue economy, pointing to significant expansion in fleet size and route coverage.
“From four boats to about 14 or 20 boats now, we commute passengers from four routes that we met to about 21 routes that we are using. So definitely we cut across Lagos inland waterways in moving passengers as well as their goods,” he said.
Also speaking, Director of Finance and Accounts, Adekale Eniola, said the agency was focused on delivering seamless and reliable services backed by government support.
“We have the means to commute our passengers from one point to the other, given the opportunity by Mr Governor with enough support and human resources to do that,” she said.
She acknowledged concerns about water travel among residents but assured that safety measures were firmly in place.
“We assure them of our safety and guarantee them of their safety at all times. We have the EHSQ team there and operational staff on ground to ensure that everything goes on as planned,” she added.
In the same vein, Head of Marine Operations, Engineer Amos Semasa, said the agency had strengthened its operational capacity with improved fleet deployment across the state.
“Lagos State Ferry Services has been equipped with enough assets and fleet assets as well. All these boats have been strategically deployed to 17 jetties plying 27 routes,” he said.
“All these routes are strategically planned to cut across all the senatorial zones in Lagos State: Lagos West, Lagos Central and Lagos East.”
He added that sustained public enlightenment campaigns were helping to build confidence among commuters.
“We have a radio programme that comes up every week on Radio Lagos and Lagos Traffic Radio to enlighten the public about safety and new innovations on the waterways. We also organise monthly stakeholder engagements with local governments to ensure that grassroots people come on board,” he said.
Semasa cited the Ijede to Lagos Island route as a recent success, noting that collaboration with local authorities had improved mobility in the area.
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