The Lagos Mass Transit Train runs from Kajola in Ogun State to Ido in Lagos State, connecting the hinterland of the Gateway State to Idumota, the center of commerce in Lagos. In this report, TOLA ADENUBI looks at how traders, workers leverage on the train to beat high transportation cost.
FOR residents of Kajola, Ijoko, Sango and Itoki all in Ogun State, and Agbado in Lagos State, the cost of getting to the Lagos Island by road has meant that many of them now use the Lagos Mass Transit Trains (LMTT) operated by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
Checks by the Sunday Tribune revealed that the NRC runs two LMTT services every day, from Monday to Friday. The first LMTT train departs Kajola by 6am, arriving at Ido near Idumota by 7:45am while the second train departs Ijoko by 7am, arriving at Ido by 8:45am.
For workers and traders who live around these areas, going through the train is far more pocket-friendly than going to Lagos via commercial bus transport.
Traders Relief
For traders who have to go to Idumota to re-stock goods and wares they sell, the best option is always the LMTT Trains because it is far cheaper to get to and fro Idumota by rail compared to what is obtained on the road.
Speaking to Sunday Tribune, a trader who simply identified as Iya Busola explained that travelling to Idumota in Lagos from Kajola by rail only costs her N700 while covering the same distance via public bus transport will cost her N1,700.
“Most of us that sell at the Ijoko market usually go to Idumota to re-stock for some particular products. From Ijoko or Itoki to Idumota by bus transportation will cost not less than N1,700 for the first trip and N1,500 for the return trip, making the two trips N3,200.
“In the early days of petrol subsidy removal, it was as high as N5,000 for the two-way trip to Idumota via bus transportation. Anytime there is fuel scarcity and the price of petrol goes up, we spend more than N3,000 to and from Idumota
“However, this only happens when the trains are not working either due to strike by the workers or other reasons. So, we always look forward to train transportation anytime we are going to Idumota because it will only cost us N1,400 for a two-way trip.
“As traders, It is important for us to cut cost of transportation because whatever we spend on transport will be transferred on what we want to sell at the market and consumers won’t want to understand once your commodities are a little bit more expensive than what they will get from your neighbours.
“So, it is very important that as traders, we reduce the cost of transportation to as low as whatever we can get. We look for options that help us do this and for a very long time, the LMTT trains have been readily affordable for us.
“It’s a relief for traders along the Kajola, Ijoko, Itoki, Agbado and Sango axis because the high cost of transportation on Lagos roads is not very good for our kind of business,” Iya Busola told Sunday Tribune exclusively.
Workers Relief
Checks by Sunday Tribune also revealed that some workers who have offices around the Lagos Island, Marina, Oyingbo, Ebutte-Metta but live within Kajola, Ijoko, Itoki, Sango and Agbado area still use the trains as a means of cutting high transportation cost.
For these workers, coming home every day via public bus transportation does not add up with what they earn as salaries.
Speaking with Sunday Tribune, a civil servant who works on the Lagos Marina stated that, “when the trains are not working, I know some people who won’t return home until weekends. Once they leave home on Mondays, they stay with friends or family friends in Lagos and come back home during the weekend because of the high transportation cost.
“However, if the trains are working, it allows some of them to come back home every day because of the cheap cost of train tickets which is just N700. Going by road is almost four times the amount you will spend if you go by train.
“The fact that the LMTT Trains no longer stops at every station is a blessing in disguise for some of us that are working class. Before, when the train used to stop at every station, particularly Ikeja, Oshodi and Mushin train stations, it used to be filled to the brim with young boys sitting on top of the trains.
“However, since the NRC stopped the LMTT trains from stopping at Ikeja, Oshodi and Mushin, the trains are less congested as it used to be and now very conducive for working class people like us to board.
“I can now dress up in my shirts and trousers with my jacket and be rest assured that I won’t get roughened up by the time I am coming down at Ido in Ebutte-Metta.
“The major issues the train had before was taking in or disembarking passengers at Ikeja, Oshodi and Mushin. The bulk of the unruly youths that sit on top of the trains and refuse to buy tickets enter the trains at these train stations.
“Back then, I stopped using the train because my cloths would have been a mess by the time I am alighting at Ido. Then, I only used the train when coming home.
“It was a good idea by the NRC to stop picking up or disembarking passengers at Ikeja, Oshodi and Mushin. This policy really changed the face of the LMTT trains as it reduced drastically the manner in which unruly youths board the trains.
“Once the train stops at Agege train station, it won’t stop again until it gets to Yaba, thus cutting off train stations like Ikeja, Shogunle, Oshodi, and Mushin.
“Aside from helping to reduce the number of unruly youths that board the trains, the cutting off of these train stations has also helped in increasing the arrival time of the LMTT trains.
“Since the trains no longer stops at these aforementioned stations, it takes us less than 15 minutes to get to Yaba after leaving Agege. The LMTT trains has really been a blessing for people like us who live around Ijoko, Itoki, Kajola in Ogun State. Without the train, maybe I will be coming home once every weekend because of the high transportation cost.
“Even if I have a car, the cost of fueling won’t allow me to drive to and from Ijoko to Marina every day.”
On the Lagos Red Rail Line that just commenced operations, many explained that if only the routes can be extended beyond Agbado, maybe it will make more economic sense to people who reside in the hinterland area.
“The Lagos Red Line brings more comfort compared to what the NRC LMTT offers. However, its operations starts and stops at Agbado, a border town between Lagos and Ogun State.
“Unlike the LMTT, the Red Line does not come into the hinterland, and thus many people within the Ijoko, Kajola and Sango axis still depend of the LMTT to move to and fro Lagos Island,” another market women told Sunday Tribune newspapers exclusively.
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