Assessment of Freight Movement in the Inland Waterways System in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria

The high dependence on land transportation for the movement of both passengers and freight within the Lagos metropolis is not sustainable. The advocacy for the use of Lagos waterways for freight movement must be encouraged. In achieving this, there is the need to document necessary information about water transportation. This study is therefore intended to identify the determining factors for the use of water to move freight on the inland waterways within the Lagos metropolis. Both primary and secondary data were adopted for the study. The primary data was sourced using a structured questionnaire targeting ownership/management of the marine craft (i.e., private, public, or public/private). The respondents included 47 registered members of Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN). The secondary data were sourced from the records of BOAN focusing on the details of boats and operators. Frequency distribution and charts were used for presenting and summarizing the data, whereas, the multinomial logistic regression model was employed to test the formulated hypothesis The multinomial logistic regression results show that the determinants of the choice of water route were freight availability (Odd Ratio: 3.257), freight (Odd Ratio: 2.350), and availability of transshipment facilities (Odd Ratio: 2.159). Availability of transshipment facilities had positive and statistically significant relationships with the choice of water route (r=0.86). This study, therefore, recommends that the state government should take necessary steps to improve the inland water transport system in Lagos state.