Skip to main content

IBM advises Lagos on future transportation system to aid growth

A team of IBM experts completing a month-long pro bono consulting assignment has presented recommendations to Nigeria's Lagos State Government to ensure that private traffic and public transportation flows more efficiently in Africa's most populous city, Lagos. Working with the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority and the Lagos State Ministries of Transportation, Works and Infrastructure, Science and Technology, the IBM team of experts proposed technology-driven strategies to make travel easier.
June 17, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
A team of 62 IBM experts completing a month-long pro bono consulting assignment has presented recommendations to Nigeria's Lagos State Government to ensure that private traffic and public transportation flows more efficiently in Africa's most populous city, Lagos.

Working with the 7133 Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority and the Lagos State Ministries of Transportation, Works and Infrastructure, Science and Technology, the IBM team of experts proposed technology-driven strategies to make travel easier.

The recommendations included better coordination between agencies responsible for traffic management, police, fire and medical care to provide more accurate and up-to-date information to help transport management agencies better manage the city's traffic flow.

Also on the list of suggestions was a single, integrated e-ticketing system for all modes of transportation, similar to New York City's Metro Card or London's Oyster card system, and integrated fare management. The introduction of roadway toll rates based on traffic density was proposed to encourage the use of public transportation. The state was also advised to create a single platform for all its traffic and transportation-related data so each agency and mode of transport is integrated, helping passengers interconnect seamlessly.

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola said: "The need to deploy innovative approaches that address civic challenges in Lagos State has never been greater. Technology is the key to the future, and we welcome IBM's support in this regard."

The team's recommendations took advantage of existing infrastructure, and suggested ways that projects could be self-funded.

"IBM's set of recommendations address our key transportation challenges and clearly enhance our ongoing efforts to fix the myriad of issues faced by our fast developing state," said Kayode Opeifa, Lagos State commissioner for transport. Further confirming this point of view, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, Lagos state commissioner for works and infrastructure, said the state's "blueprint for transforming our struggling infrastructure into a modern ecosystem driven by data intelligence and efficient resource management has been further authenticated by these set of recommendations from IBM."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Hyderabad seeks comments on ITS master plan
    November 28, 2013
    India’s Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has developed its Comprehensive Transportation Plan-2014 for Hyderabad Metropolitan Area and a draft Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Master Plan and is seeking public comments and suggestions. The Comprehensive Transportation Plan, prepared by consultants LEA Associates, envisages a total investment of US$35 billion over the next thirty years. It includes travel demand forecasts up to the year 2041 and proposes the expansion of Metro Rai
  • New thinking needed on the transportation front
    December 10, 2014
    Having spent his working life in transportation, Larry Yermack gives his views on today’s technology challenges. I remember it vividly; it was the late 80s, soon after I started as CFO of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority and I was standing mid-span on the deck of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge on a Friday afternoon.
  • Sice systems future proof Fehmarnbelt Tunnel
    April 4, 2023
    Picking up the electro-mechanical contract for the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel was a milestone, according to David Calero Monteagudo, head of global ITS and tunnel business for Spanish company Sice. David Arminas finds out more
  • Telvent, Siemens, IBM, and Cisco will prosper in traffic management systems market
    July 20, 2012
    According to a new report from ABI Research, as the global population hurtles past the seven billion barrier, more and more people are living in cities than ever before. This is especially true of developing countries which account for 20 of the world’s 27 megacities. With above average levels of population and economic growth in these regions, traffic congestion has quickly ensued, which is detrimental to GDP, the environment, as well as health and safety. The new ABI Research report predicts that companie