David Mabaje commutes by boat from Ikorodu to Victoria Island, where he works. For him, water transportation is an efficient mode of transportation that saves time and reduces the stress from driving long distances. “I can use the time I would have spent driving to settle in at work and be refreshed and more productive,” he told me.
About 17% of Lagos State is made up of lagoons and waterways, including the Lagos Lagoon, Porto-Novo Creek, Badagry Creeks and the Atlantic Ocean. So, ferry services are offered in many areas, including in Lekki, Ikorodu and Badagry.
However, the waterways are underutilized. Water transportation only accounts for one percent of transportation activities in Lagos State.
“Some people don’t even know they can use boats to commute,” Ayorinde Ebiwonjumi, a boat captain at Ebute jetty in Ikorodu, told me.
Apart from a lack of awareness, safety concerns also deter people from considering water transportation.
A project manager and virtual assistant, Favour Trina, told me she was scared the first time she took a boat to a beach on the Island.
Boat accidents are not unusual in Lagos. In October, three people died after a boat travelling from Ebute Ero to Badagry collided with a wooden boat travelling from Alakija to Imore.
Another issue is cost. For example, a trip on a private boat from the Ebute jetty to Victoria Island or Lekki is pegged at N3,000, with the return trip costing N2500. The Lag ferries, which are subsidized by the state government, charge between N1,500 and N2,000 but are limited to certain times of the day. Meanwhile, a road trip from Ikorodu to Lagos Island using Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) or public buses (danfo) costs between 700 to 1,500 naira, making it a more affordable option.
To learn what the state government is doing to promote water transportation, I reached out to the General Manager of Lagos State Waterways (LASWA), Mr. Oluwadamilola Emmanuel.
He told me more people now use water transportation in Lagos compared to a few years ago. However, he added, a lot more needs to be done.
Addressing affordability concerns, he said many of the components involved in running ferry services are imported.
“If we were making them here then they can become a lot cheaper,” he said. “And of course, the rising cost of fuel has also affected it so I can’t promise that we’ll bring that down. About 60 to 70% of the total cost goes on petrol.”
He said there are plans in place to transition from fossil fuels through electric or solar powered boats, which may reduce running costs in the long run.