More than 1.3m people now travel by water in Lagos State every month, the Managing Director of Lagos State Water Authority, Mr. Adeyinka Marinho, has said.
Marinho told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Saturday that the number of those who travelled by water rose from the 300,000 recorded in 2011.
“I want to emphasise that people have known the importance of waterways,” he said.
Marinho stressed that more people now understood the fact that water transportation was quite safe and healthy.
“The fear of drowning is what discourages many people from travelling by water. In actual fact, the lagoon is quite large but safety is the watchword.
“As long as you have the life jacket on, even if you do not know how to swim, you can never drown.
“It is good to travel by water, especially now when rehabilitation works are expected to commence on the Third Mainland Bridge, which has been the major link for people moving from the island to the mainland,” he said.
The rehabilitation of the bridge, which will start on July 1, will result in its partial closure.
Marinho, however, said that the 59 registered ferry operators in the state would be operating at varying capacities to enable them to cope with the expected large turnout of passengers because of the bridge’s partial closure.
He also said that many jetties in the state had parking spaces for motorists who would want to park and ride in the ferries.
Besides, Marinho said that the newly constructed Oworonshoki and Ipakodo jetties would be in use during the period.
Marinho added that increased security surveillance would be mounted on the waterways to promote the people’s safety.
The Chairman of the Association of Waterway Transporters, Mr. Adeleke Emoruwa, also said the transporters would be operating between 6:30am and 7.30pm from Monday to Friday every week during the bridge’s closure.
Emoruwa, however, urged commuters to always wear their life jackets while travelling on water.
