In the face of transformation being embarked upon by Lagos State Government, stakeholders in the transport sector have expressed divergent opinions over outright ban on motorcycle and tricycle operations in Lagos State.
The public hearing, which was organised, by the Lagos State House of Assembly Adhoc Committee on Transportation attracted some stakeholders in the transport sector, some of whom called for restrictions of motorcycles and tricycles from highways instead of outright ban.
For instance, Section 35 of a Bill before the Assembly states that, “A person shall not ride, drive or propel a cart, wheelbarrow, motorcycle or tricycle on any road within the state.
“A person who fails to comply with any of the provision of this section commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to: Imprisonment of for a term of three years or to any non-custodial sentence; and have his vehicle forfeited to the state.”
According to the proposed bill, where a rider is convicted for an offence, the passenger shall also be liable to the same penalty provided the passenger is not a child.
In his contribution, Hyginus Omeje, Lagos State Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), called for affirmative statement on the position of the proposed law on the ban of motorcycles and tricycles in the state.
The FRSC official said that the state might need to build more prisons if the traffic offences that attract three years imprisonment in the bill were to be implemented.
Peter Fosudo, Head of Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), said the bill should categorise the roads where commercial motorcycles and tricycles could operate.
Fosudo, who called for restrictions of motorcycles and tricycles from highways instead of outright ban, called for heavy fines for defaulters.
Biodun Mike Hundeyin, solicitor to National Union of Road Transports Workers (NURTW), said that an outright ban on commercial motorcycles and tricycles would be counterproductive to economic activities in the state.
The solicitor noted that the development would compound the state’s unemployment problem, saying that the primary mode of transport in Badagry area, for instance, was commercial motorcycle.
Prince Joseph Odusanya, Lagos Chairman, Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria, also opposed the proposed ban.
“If Okada is being banned, tricycles should be an alternative means of transportation. Let’s consider the hardship this might bring to the people and the economy of the state,’’ he said.
