By Uzor Odigbo
The Lagos Ferry Services (LAGFERRY) has urged Lagos residents to embrace water transportation as it plans to increase the boat fleet to 20, with improved and efficient service delivery in the New Year.
The Managing Director of LAGFERRY, Mr. Abdoulbaq Ladi-Balogun, made the appeal in his New Year message to commuters. He assured that Lagosians would witness a lot of transformation in water transportation in the first quarter, with the state government already putting things in place.
“I urge you to stay tuned and expect more remarkable giant strides in water transportation in the first quarter of the New Year as the agency takes delivery of additional world-class state-of-the-art boats to increase our fleet to 20 and our capacity to meet the ever-increasing demands”, he said.
The LAGFERRY boss also disclosed that the agency achieved success in the last one year by conveying over 200,000 passengers within 150 days of operation in 2020, noting that it would have done better had the COVID-19 pandemic and EndSARS protest not brought commercial activities to a halt.
“Notable among the achievements and huge milestones recorded by LAGFERRY was expanding services to Epe, Badagry, Agbowa-Ikosi, Agbara and Ibeju-Lekki; Contributed 38% of the water transportation index to the transportation matrix of the State; Improved water transportation contribution to Lagos GDP from 0.2% to 0.8%; Paying a high premium to safety and achieving accident-free record.
“We will continue to break new grounds as we open up uncharted territory in water, we are committed to your safety as we promise not to compromise on all safety protocols. We are urging the commuting public to embrace water transportation as an alternative to road transport, just as we assure our passengers of our commitment to their safety and improved service delivery”, he added. Traffic congestion has been a major unsolved problem in various parts of the state for past administrations, owing to the large population, Lagos being the commercial hub of the nation, ever bustling with activities, and also the flagrant disobedience of traffic laws and the use of parts of the roads as trading areas.