Chaos has understandably attended the introduction of an electronic payment-only new order on the Ikoyi-Lekki link bridge beginning January 2, 2020. The insistence on e-payment as the only mode has created massive traffic snarls that add to the narrative of Lagos as the traffic bottleneck capital of the world. There are even more challenges with the order that would suggest the need for more work and thinking on the project, good as it sounds.
First, Lekki Concession Company and the Lagos State Government deserve commendations for seeking ways to minimise the challenge of traffic congestion on the toll points in the city. They earn further pips for the use of technology and innovations that technology enables. There is more work ahead, though, to make the system workable.
Lekki Concession Company introduced the e-tolls on the second day of the year. It seemed to work well in the traffic-free days of the holidays. As citizens returned to their activities Monday, January 6, the inadequacies of the scheme began to manifest. The process for getting on the toll is anachronistic, tedious and wasteful. It does not reflect the need for timeliness which is one of the reasons road users gladly pay a fee for a supposed short cut.
The Ikoyi-Lekki link bridge failed the test of ease of movement and speed before now. Morning and evening¸ patrons of the bridge confront colossal traffic congestion. A primary goal of the new e-toll was to reduce the congestion and make it easier to pass vehicles on to either side. It has not done so.
First was the lack of adequate notice and information. Lekki and Ikoyi residents as primary users of the road had only a one-month timeline to prepare. The company did not create much awareness beyond the posters at the two toll points that it manages.
Preparations by LCC itself could have been better. LCC said payment platforms would include the e-TAG, prepaid card, contactless card and payment voucher. It promised a dedicated app where users could apply and register to pay and use the service. LCC also promised distribution centres where patrons could pick access cards all over Lagos. As of November 7, 2020, the app was not available either on the LCC website or Google Play Store.
Deficiencies of the electronic payment ecosystem in Nigeria have also affected the scheme in these early days. Payments via Quickteller and the banks take 24 hours and counting to reflect with LCC. Nor does LCC have enough outlets to enable patrons to make payments.
The Lagos State government and LCC must work harder to resolve these teething problems. They would then need to address the more fundamental philosophical, political and legal issues around the toll gates and the payment modes.
E-payment, given the state of infrastructure in Nigeria today, restricts access to the Ikoyi-Lekki link bridge. It means that persons visiting either of the two places for the first time and probably from out of town cannot use the bridge. They would have to go through a process of education and enlightenment to understand why their cash is not suitable, or why they cannot access a road built with taxpayers’ funds anywhere in Nigeria and in the heart of the city.
In December 2014, Lagos State Government announced that it had taken over the management of the Lekki-Epe expressway and the toll gate earlier concessioned to LCC. The Lagos State House of Assembly approved the release of N7.5 billion for the purpose. That effectively ended the public-private partnership basis of the concession.
Since then, tolls have continued on the Admiralty Toll Plaza and on the Ikoyi-Lekki bridge. Accountability beckons. How much do the toll plazas yield to Lagos annually? How does the state utilise the income from the tolls? All that citizens occasionally hear from the LCC is justification for increments based on inflation and other economic indices. There is never accounting for what it earns and how it utilises it.
The Ikoyi-Lekki Link Bridge is a 1.36km cable-stayed bridge linking Lekki Phase 1 to Ikoyi. Babatunde Raji Fashola as governor of Lagos State commissioned the bridge on 29 May 2013. A significant promise of the bridge is that the tolls would help fund more roads/bridges in Lagos as well as its maintenance.
How much has Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge generated since May 2013? Has it paid for its construction? Should the basis of continued tolling not be an accountability regimen that enables citizens to know what the state gets?
Meanwhile, Lagos State and its operating company LCC should finetune the electronic payment model they have introduced.
