The Lagos State government through its Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), has notified designated churches of its planned hourly charge on cars parked outside churches during church services. This was communicated in a letter addressed to the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Lagos State Branch, and signed off by the agency’s Head of Operations, Ayokunle Akinrimisi.
Although the letter states the commencement date for October this year, other modalities like pricing classes, penalties for infringements, special waivers, and exemptions were not made clear.
With states making efforts to raise internally generated revenue and stay independent of monthly federal allocation, this move might be the first steps by the state to initiate state-wide congestion pricing in select areas and business districts to augment revenue and encourage use of public means of transportation.
According to Numbeo, Lagos leads Kenya’s Nairobi and Egypt’s Cairo with a congestion index of 354.5 and average of 68.8 minutes spent on a commute. it takes the lead as Africa’s most congested city. These figures were derived using a combination of commuter time, CO2 emissions and other factors.
When successfully implemented, we expect an adoption of this initiative by other state governments.
