Moving from one point to another in Nigeria is fraught with problems. Whether you are taking a short commute to the market in your city or town, or you want to travel from one state to another, mobility in today’s Nigeria is a nightmare. While some of the problems have evolved through the years, others are as old as time. These challenges affect everyone, not just passengers. Drivers face them every day, fleet operators grapple with them, even app or other tech solution providers face them. Here are some of the more crippling challenges that the mobility sector in Nigeria face and why they matter:
Poor Organization
The Nigerian mobility industry suffers from decades of little to no organization. Outside of the rigid structures of transport unions in legacy motor parks, there is still no structure to the rest of Nigeria’s public transportation apparatus. Transport service operators are adversely affected as the lack of structure forces them to spend more money to set up stop-gap frameworks for operating. Drivers are affected too, as the lack of a standard process means that there is no generally accepted wage structure or protection of their services.
Fragmentation
A typical journey that a Nigerian faces when moving from one state to another is similar to a game of Russian roulette. When you set out for the journey, you are never sure what transport operator you will end up using until you reach the bus station or motor park. Once there, you will find several operators and drivers jostling for your attention, this means that it takes longer for any single vehicle to leave at any given time because the stream of passengers is dissipated between several competing parties. Often passengers who wish to leave faster have to pay for an extra seat to “fill up” the bus.
No Technology
From the passenger manifest to the booking process, the Nigerian mobility industry is decades behind in the adoption of technology to solve simple problems. It is only in the past few years that we’ve witnessed some technological involvement with aggregator apps like Bolt and Uber. This however has so far only affected a tiny fragment with the vast majority of the mobility space still grappling with poorly maintained paper processes.
The Opportunity
From streamlining processes and bringing in a new organizational order to the automation of transactions, there is a vast opportunity to be grasped in the Nigerian mobility industry. The influx of carefully crafted technology in tune with local realities can make a vast difference in the daily lives of Nigerians. bloXmoveNG the offshoot of pioneering decentralized mobility solutions provider bloXmove is working towards creating the perfect fit solution that will solve some of the most pressing challenges the industry faces. From creating an automated booking process to keeping safe travel records to unlocking new opportunities for fleet operators, drivers, and passengers alike, bloXmoveNG’s collaboration through decentralization will be a gamechanger. At the heart of bloXmove’s solution are decentralized ledger technologies like blockchain and decentralized identifiers. bloXmoveNG will engender constructive collaboration between competing mobility actors to usher in a new dawn of smarter, leaner, and more efficient mobility reality for the betterment of all Nigerians.