By: Bumblebee

Ever since the evolution of man – from the Stone Age to the New Age – we have always seen the need for locomotion. We have progressed from the use of just legs, karts, cars, lorries, and boats at a time to other newer means of transport, some proposed and some others disposed. One excellent feature of man is our ability to create and recreate things that would make our lives easier and better, which encapsulates the essence of technology.

Of the different means of transportation, land transportation is the one which interferes with commuters the most. The advantages of land transportation over other means of transportation are that it brings you to your doorstep. Sequel to our earlier report on the ordeal of students commuting within the school and its environs, we have decided to take a further analysis.

Unlike the environs that surround UI, UI doesn’t have problems with road infrastructure network. But the bottleneck in the existing mode of transportation has been creating some debacle. The UI model of transportation basically comprises of tricycles, cabs and shuttle buses. These vehicles operate in a centralised bus park and take passengers to their decentralised bus stops at different time intervals. So, a commuter in a decentralised location is at the mercy of incoming traffic. Nevertheless, movement was not this difficult before the Covid-19 outbreak, and even years before the ban of motorcycle on campus. From a hind sight, it seems as though the demand is now more than supply or there is not enough supply to meet the demand of people. How can you tell?

During the rush hour of the day, it would be hard for you to meet up with an appointment if you arrive few minutes to your schedule for a ride that shouldn’t be up to 5 minutes. No one enjoys waiting for minutes before being able to successfully get on board and zoom.

In today’s world, especially in densely populated area, like we are in, if the transportation system is not well managed, the people will suffer unnecessary hardship likewise the economy. In today’s technology, transportation is just about what people need to make their life easier and better, so they don’t need to expend energy that can be judiciously used in other profitable economic activities. One can see clearly that technology and economy go hand in hand.

In the light of recent innovation:

• The Boring Company of Tesla that is trying to solve the problem of traffic by building underground tunnels that cut across specific areas. This project is attracting investors and users because of its unique advantage.
• More so, the Virgin Atlantic company proposed transport system called the hyperloop, one of the company’s statement reads: “We’re building for fast, effortless journeys that expand possibilities. Our system can propel passenger or cargo pods at speeds of over 1000 km/h. That is three times faster than high-speed rail and more than ten times faster than traditional rail”.

A good transportation system is therefore a sign of a developed society. However, we can’t just sit back till we have invention and innovation of this magnitude in this side of the world. We can still use smart ideas to better the current system of transportation and also make lives easier and better.

Characteristics Of The Transport System UI Should Imbibe

Timeliness: A good transport system should be timely and readily available.

Frequency: Frequency is one of the most important factors of a good transport system, and has a direct link with route efficiency and ridership. Simply, increasing frequency would improve the service UItes are currently receiving and also make them happy. Multi-modal solutions and partnerships with ride-hailing services can help increase option. If the delivery services within UI can deliver fast enough to their customers, there should be nothing holding back the transport service from doing same.

Comfortability: A good transport system should come with comfort. Of course, speed can’t be neglected when it comes to good transportation. As this is proportional to time, it implies a fast means of transportation will make students to reach their destinations in timely manner.

As it stands, it is either the current system carrying capacity is increased in terms of more riders or a private hailing rider is introduced to create a better efficient system. It’s obvious that something is not right with the current mechanism and a restructuring of the system which would be a better route to development rather that a patch up.