The Abidjan-Lagos transport corridor is the major east-west transport corridor in West Africa, connecting the capital cities of five countries (Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria). Travel along the corridor is recognized as critical to the socio-economic development of the region, but it also offers opportunities for the fast transmission of communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
A monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system is an essential element of the planning, design and implementation of rural transport projects and is useful in assessing whether projects achieve their strategic and development objectives. However, tracking results and being able to use them for future planning is a big challenge for developing and improving rural transport in Africa. There is a lack of evidence on both the development impacts of rural transport improvements and more importantly the benefits they bring to the rural poor.
Africa is urbanizing at a very high pace, and both large and intermediate African cities are experiencing rapid and often unplanned growth. As a result, policy- and decision-makers face numerous challenges regarding planning, development and management of their cities.
This publication is based on an extensive review of the literature, interviews with stakeholders, and analysis of primary data to document lessons from the BRT experience in Jakarta, Indonesia; Lagos, Nigeria; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Delhi and Ahmedabad, India.
This document describes how the first bus rapid transit system based on the well known good practice examples of Columbia and Brazil, adapted to the local context of Lagos, was implemented. It shows the strategic role of transport in a megacity like Lagos but also and maybe more importantly, the critical role of commitment and leadership at the highest levels of government for such a project to succeed. "Launched in March 2008, the new BRT system provided Lagos commuters with a clean, affordable and reliable means of getting around the city".
