Ayodele Olalere
As part of efforts to reduce road transportation and ease traffic congestion, Lagos State government through Lagos State Waterways Authority, LASWA, has partnered Uber technologies with the launch of Uber boat.
The launch, which took place at the LASWA new boat terminal, Ikoyi, was witnessed by the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as well as the Commissioner for Transport, Dr. Frederick Oladeinde.
According to the governor, the partnership would help reduce 20% of Lagosians using road transportation and increase the use of water transportation.
He also said it would improve the collaboration between the government and private sector.
READ ALSO: World Sight Day: Govt. tasked on specialised schools, employment opportunities for the blind
” Lagos is responsible for less than 0.4% of the land mass of the country and water takes the largest share of the state. We know we need to use resources of water ways to improve transport system. This launch shows the level of collaboration that can exist between government and private sector. We need to continue to collaborate. We
have several jetties we have built so we can have enough draft to carry on to do this. In the next two years, we would have been able to push 20% of the people using the road transport system to water ways
so we can get traffic off our road,” the governor said.
He added that the state government would continue to make use of technology in areas such as rail and water transport so as to ease traffic congestion. He also urged management of LASWA to ensure safety standards are complied with by the water transport operators.
The Commissioner for Transport, Dr. Frederick Oladeinde said the innovation is part of the T.H.E.M.E.S agenda of Sanwo-Olu’s administration which is to improve the transportation section of the state.
” The government has embarked on transformation agenda of which transport system is the first. The vision is to develop a modal system that will make Lagos world class city. Water transport is an important ways of moving Lagos forward and technology play a part in bringing all transport system in the state together,” he said.
