Nigeria’s approval of NGN142 billion for the construction of bus terminals across the its six geopolitical zones alongside the recent launch of new bus terminals and Compressed Natural Gas bus fleets by Enugu State Government signal desires towards modernising public transportation in the country.
However, these efforts also highlight a familiar challenge: a sector long driven by lofty possibilities but hindered by weak sustainability, unstable investments, and poor coordination.
While developed countries such as Singapore and Sweden have demonstrated that long-term planning, sustainability, and integration can transform public transit into a reliable backbone of economic growth and urban life, Nigeria and other African nations are still struggling with fragmented and uncoordinated public mass transit and transportation systems.
Nigeria’s Transport Sector Reforms: Progress Amidst Persistent Disintegration
Since the return to democracy in 1999, the closest attempts at building a system-wide transport infrastructure remained largely unsustainable until the launch of the Lagos BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) in 2008 under the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA). Standing out as the most consistent, Lagos BRT expanded corridors and upgraded terminals, adopted electronic ticketing and CCTV surveillance, provided air-conditioned waiting areas and intermodal connections to ferries and rails.
SPIRITUAL SOLUTION THAT WORKS: Are you in need of spiritual guidance about your life?
Do you need a complete spiritual check-up to balance your spiritual life, your Dreams and your spiritual suspicious?
Look no further! Consult With Trusted A highly experienced spiritual guide.
DR ADAMS ADAM: Will Guide you to achieve Success, Wealth, Healing Possessions and protection, bręakthrough. Spiritual power, healing & cleansing, Peaceful relationship. Get our natural Male Enhancement to Improved your libido, sexual performance and Enhanced fertility. Our spiritual check-up program will reveal the hidden secrets about your Life and solution. For spiritual consultation and counseling. ON MATTERS OF THE MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT.
Call or WatsApp + 2 3 4 7 0 6 2 1 5 6 8 3 4. With god All things. LOCATED AT “ABUJA, LAGOS, OSUN
States including Enugu, Ogun, Oyo, Rivers, and Cross River experimented with city bus schemes, but sustainability challenges collapsed them. Abuja, by contrast, remained inconsistent with aged fleets and the absence of dedicated lanes.
However, recent interventions with the construction of three bus terminals by Minister Ezenwo Wike are part of the critical infrastructure to improve the nation’s capital transportation system.
Also, Enugu State achieved a major milestone on August 14, 2025, with the unveiling of five modern transport terminals — alongside a CNG-powered bus scheme, and a centralised transport management system, standing out as the most recent aspiring sub-national effort in Nigeria’s transport history.
Rail development in Nigeria similarly presents mixed outcomes. Abuja’s light rail launched in 2018 to interconnect the federal capital to the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport gained initial momentum but however, was short-lived when the train service faced operational disruptions in 2020. Lagos’s Blue and Red Metro lines (2023 and 2024) marked significant progress.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) is pushing intercity connectivity: Abuja–Kaduna (2020), and Lagos–Ibadan (2021). Other corridors under construction include Warri–Itakpe, Port Harcourt–Bonny, Port Harcourt–Maiduguri, and Kano–Kaduna, although challenged by security, poor financing, and political hindrances.
Combined with dilapidated roads, unreliable power supply, and underdeveloped waterways, the transport landscape in Nigeria remains fragmented, inhibiting productivity, dissuading investments, and emasculating economic growth.
This challenge is not unique to Nigeria. Africa’s rapid urbanization is placing immense pressure on fragile transport systems. Rising motorization is worsening city congestion, while mass transit options remain scarce. According to the World Bank, African cities are turning to BRT as a solution. Dakar led the charge with Africa’s first all-electric BRT system. Cape Town continues to expand its MyCiTi network; Nairobi is building BRT corridors; Dar es Salaam operates one of Africa’s most successful BRT systems; Addis Ababa is pursuing ambitious mass transit reforms; and Kigali is restructuring its network with electric buses and green mobility.
These examples highlight a continental appetite for modern transit models. Yet, without institutionalized multimodal frameworks—anchored on coordination, sustainable financing, regulation, and political consensus—Nigeria and its peers remain far from achieving fully modern transport systems.
Lessons from Sweden and Singapore
In sharp contrast to the disjointed systems across Africa, Singapore and Sweden present strikingly different models witnessed amongst the world’s most efficient public transportation systems, sharing prominent similarities, notwithstanding differences in geography.
Both prioritise integrated multimodal networks where buses, metros, trains, and other modes are coordinated under central regulators — the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Singapore and the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) in Sweden. Sustainability is a cornerstone: electric buses are widely adopted, and private car use is discouraged through congestion policies. Both countries also leverage technology such as real-time passenger information, contactless payments, and smart traffic systems. Crucially, transport is aligned with urban planning: Sweden connects housing and regional development, while Singapore integrates MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) stations with residential estates and commercial hubs.
The main difference lies in scale. Sweden’s system spans vast regions, requiring extensive regional coordination, while Singapore’s compact city-state structure enables dense and efficient transit planning. In Sweden, strong policy coordination between Trafikverket, municipal governments, and local authorities underpins the system. Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL) allows passengers to move seamlessly between modes using the SL Access Card.
Sweden’s success stems from decades of deliberate planning, stable investment, regulatory consistency, and political consensus. Its steady evolution can be traced through key milestones:
1870s–1930s: Horse-drawn trams and the first urban networks.
1930s–1950s: Unified management of trams and buses under city ownership.
1950s–1970s: Launch of the metro and creation of SL, centralizing county-wide coordination.
1970s–1990s: Expansion of commuter rail and integration with buses and metro services.
2000s–2010s: Rollout of contactless smart cards, real-time passenger information, and mobile ticketing.
2010s–present: Full multimodal integration supported by unified apps, high-capacity interchanges, and ambitious green mobility innovations.
Today, Swedish metro trains, buses, and trams are designed for both accessibility and sustainability, featuring low-floor entry, wheelchair access, priority seating, eco-friendly engines, digital route displays, and audio announcements. Intercity options—FlixBus and SJ’s high-speed trains—add further comfort with Wi-Fi, reclining seats, onboard dining, quiet zones, power outlets, and dedicated spaces for bicycles and mobility needs. At the heart of the system is Stockholm’s T-Centralen hub, where local, regional, and national services converge, ensuring seamless transitions, reinforcing efficiency in public mobility.
Lessons for Nigeria and other African Peers
Centralized Coordination: Like the LTA in Singapore and the Swedish Transport Administration, African countries need to unify disjointed transportation struggles to incorporate all efforts (federal, regional, state, local, and private).
Long-Term Planning: Sweden’s 10–20-year investment cycles highlight the importance of continuity beyond political terms.
Nationwide Integration: Feeder routes, metro lines, and intercity rails must interconnect to enable regional expansion and system-wide efficiency.
Institutional Stability: Strong governance and regulatory consistency are vital for sustainable projects and operationality.
Hub-Based Infrastructure: Intermodal terminals reduce transfer times and improve efficiency.
Technology-Driven Services: Real-time information, digital payments, and journey-planning apps are key to reliability and efficiency.
Local Manufacturing: Sweden relies on Scania and Volvo. Nigeria and its peers should invest in local CNG and electric bus assembly to reduce imports, strengthen currencies, and create jobs.
Sweden’s journey from fragmented beginnings to a world-class multimodal transport system is instructive for Nigeria and its African peers to move beyond scattered initiatives and implement tested and efficient transportation systems. Nigeria and other African nations already possess some elements of modern frameworks—BRT corridors, urban and intercity rail projects, and clean-fuel initiatives—but these remain disjointed and uncoordinated. What is urgently needed is not more scattered projects, but a bold and deliberate commitment to revolutionize public mobility. African countries must adopt integrated, modern, and sustainable multimodal systems based on deliberate long-term planning, cyclical investments with opportunities for private sector participation, robust regulatory and institutional frameworks, political and stakeholder’s consensus, and effective coordination among federating units. Only through such a holistic approach can Nigeria and other African countries transition from ambitious rhetoric to building resilient and world-class transport systems that support its growing urbanization and economy.
Okelue David Ugwunta is a University Lecturer and an Economic Planning Specialist.