Daily Gamble: Lagos Yellow Buses Dey Kill Calmly

For dawn for Lagos, horn of danfo dey cut humid air as bus conductors dey shout destinations and commuters dey jostle for space, clutch bag, and brace for another day. For city wey get over 20 million people, traffic congestion na constant wahala, rail system still dey crawl, and commuters get almost no choice. BRT dey, but fleet no reach half of daily demand, so rickety yellow buses molues, danfos, LT buses still dey rule roads and move millions every day. Dem old, worn-out, most no roadworthy, but still dey carry people go work, market, school, and home. NDLEA investigation show say roadworthiness failure na major reason for accidents.

FRSC report talk say between 2021-2023, 10,617 people die for road crashes, 22% linked to commercial buses and taxis, while WHO talk say Nigeria get 1 out of 4 road deaths for Africa. Lagos contribute plenty to di toll. Di irony be say people dey enter buses wey no safe because na di only affordable choice. Fares dey raw and elastic, N500 fit jump to N1,200 during fuel wahala or rain. Commuters like Onyeka, Bukola, and Ade talk say dem dey fear for life inside danfo, floor dey vibrate, roof low, seat torn, yet dem must enter because life no dey wait. Health hazard dey inside, bad ventilation, exhaust fumes, mouldy seats, leaking roofs, dust, sweat, bacteria. Lagos need at least 10,000 functional mass transit buses, but BRT get less than 1,000 and repairs dey constant. Yellow buses remain informal and dangerous network of movement. Experts talk say VIS must focus on safety, enforce quarterly checks, and train operators. Until Lagos scale metro rail, more BRT, and modern transport, yellow buses go continue to define daily life, and people go dey gamble with dia lives just to reach work.

(DAILY INDEPENDENT)