Inclusive Services: The Urban Transportation Planning Gap in Public Bus Provision in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria

Public bus infrastructural provision for the movement of people, especially commuters, by city authorities has continued to gain prominence worldwide. This is not only because it provides enhanced access to the urban poor, but also because of the fact that research has proven that public bus infrastructure provision provides a sustainable and green alternative to cars. In view of the above, this paper examined the extent at which the newly introduced Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Scheme in Metropolitan Lagos has been able to accomplished the inclusive urban transport policy objective in infrastructure and service provision, as regards the accessibility needs of the disabled in terms of bus and terminal access, fare fixing, bus scheduling and routing, bus interior design and facility, mobility aid appliances at terminals and within bus to mentioned a few. This paper adopted participant observer survey method to determine the extent of availability of the identified mobility aid appliances, and also to highlight the level of patronage of the BRT bus by disabled commuters. This survey was conducted through series of travels on the BRT bus at peak and off peak period across the city for a period of one month. Also, scheduled interviews were conducted on selected numbers of disabled commuters. The aim is to determine the level of comfort experienced by them accessing and travelling on the BRT bus. The study revealed a high level of improvement in public bus transport services provision for commuters, relatively to the old system of rickety, unsafe and less comfortable Molue commuters’ bus, in Lagos. However, the paper identified planning and investment gaps in provision of mobility aid appliances for the travel needs of disadvantaged commuters. Also, the paper further revealed that specialized services and fare structure are never provided for the disabled commuters, thus, excluding them from the comfortability offered by the scheme, being currently enjoyed by able commuters. This paper thus, recommended a more pragmatic approach in urban transport planning, that allow for a paradigm shift from planning for people to planning with the people.