The ubiquitous Lagos commercial bus, better known as danfo, has been the face of public transportation in Lagos State for many decades. That is why the plan by the state government to ban the yellow-painted commercial buses should be properly interrogated before it is implemented. Even though most Lagos residents will readily admit that the public face of danfo is largely ugly, the proposed plan has the potential to disrupt the transportation system in the state, if not properly handled. 

There is, already, a strong case against danfo in Lagos. Very few of the buses are owner-driven. Most of them are passed from hand to hand, and soon end up very poorly maintained and rickety. The drivers and their conductors (driver-mates) are notorious for their very bad conduct and poor work ethics. They frequently drive under the influence of alcohol and other unwholesome substances, which often put their passengers at risk. The vehicles are noted for their noise and air pollution, which badly degrade the environment. What is even more painful is the inability of government to enforce the regulation that the conductors reserve a seat for themselves, as against their subsisting practice of hanging on buses. The danfo buses are also just as dangerous as their bigger molue counterparts that were phased out in the state some years ago.

So, while there may not be much debate on the desirability, or otherwise,  of the plan to phase out danfo to bring Lagos closer to its new status of a megacity, the fact that the proposed plan is earmarked for implementation by the end of this year has sent alarm bells ringing. The question is: Will less than one year to the implementation of a proposal that has grand implications for public transportation and social safety not appear hasty, premature, unrealistic and, therefore, unattainable?

This is why we want the Lagos authorities to pause and do a thorough and all-encompassing evaluation of the plan. Anyone familiar with the state of the buses and the way public transportation is run in Lagos will hardly fault the proposal, but what are the safety nets built into the new plan? For starters, danfo buses represent a sizeable chunk of employment and investment for Lagos citizens. Statisticians would probably be hard put determining the actual number of Lagos citizens who earn their daily living from the danfo and its ancillary businesses. What is the plan for them in the proposed new public transportation regime?

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As a responsible citizen, the Lagos government may be planning one form of accommodation or the other for the army of danfo drivers, driver-mates and other persons who may lose their jobs or livelihoods on account of this ban, but what is it going to do with the huge investments that the danfo buses currently represent? There must be some form of consideration for that in the new plan.

Realistically then, it would be better to do a phased implementation of the plan. That would allow government to see, first-hand, the immediate and possible long term defects of the plan and so have the chance to correct them before a state-wide implementation and coverage is attained. The plan to phase out the danfo is too far reaching to be allowed to go wrong.

In any case, what is the proposed alternative to danfo buses? Where are the buses going to come from and at what cost to taxpayers? Would the present danfo stakeholders be allowed full or part ownership? These questions are important because of the not-so-smooth implementation that we have noticed with both the LAGBUS and the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) schemes of the Lagos State Government. That is why we would want to caution against a rushed implementation of this good proposal. The plan should not be implemented with any particular beneficiary in mind. As we noted earlier, the entire proposal should be holistically evaluated for the benefit of all Lagos citizens who are expected to be the sole beneficiaries of the plan.

In the end, maybe what would serve all of the stakeholders in the public transportation project better is a restriction of the danfo to some defined routes and, perhaps, inner-roads, if only as a stop-gap measure while we contemplate the future. The consequences of the disruptions to livelihoods and the social fallouts may be too much for any government to bear, especially now that the economy is bleeding. The Lagos government must give deep thought to this latter point and act with circumspection, understanding and courage. We cannot afford to replace a present problem with a bigger one in future.  That would defeat the real purpose and essence of government.