Despite the increased boat mishaps that occurred in the country last year, no fewer than two million people now commute through the waterways in Lagos on a monthly basis.
Data sourced from the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), put the figure at 1,902,631 as at the month of December 2014. Although there was a fluctuation in the figure during the year, the number increased in the month of December.
The increase in the patronage of the use of waterways for transportation in Lagos has been attributed to the improved regulation governing the use of the waterway.
A breakdown of the figure showed that 1,798,343 used the waterways in January, while 1,794,421 was recorded in February.
For March and April; 1,794,848 and 1,789,212 were recorded respectively while the month of May recorded 1,790,899 passengers with 1,788,315 passengers recorded in June. 1,787,478 passengers used the waterways in July; 1,788,487 in August; 1,788,036 in September while 1,879,098, 1,867,045 and 1,902,631 were recorded for the months of October, November and December respectively.
LASWA Managing Director, Yinka Marinho said the agency would intensify the campaign on safety on the waterways this year.
He explained that the more commuters obey the law regulating waterways transport, the less accident will occur.
He said, “The life jacket is meant to save lives when an accident occurs but Lagosians do not like wearing the life saving vest. We will continue to enforce the use of life vest until the message we are trying to pass sinks in.”
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