Inter-Modal Transport System in Nigeria: The Case of the Asaba-Onitsha Transport Corridor since the Pre-Colonial Period

The transportation system in Nigeria is predominantly unimodal. It is estimated that over 90 percent of goods and passengers are transported by road. The over-reliance on road transport for the conveyance of goods and people has contributed greatly to the deterioration of Nigeria’s roads and the attendant increase in road maintenance costs. Research by scholars has shown that a single mode of transport cannot adequately meet the transportation needs of the majority of people living in urban centers. The cities of Asaba and Onitsha, located on the west and east banks of the River Niger, have water-based transport and rail services, but are yet to be fully developed and integrated with the dominant road transport system. It is against this background that this paper examines the current transport challenges in the area's transport systems and the wider Nigerian context, and advocates for an intermodal transport system, that is, the blending of road, water, and rail to facilitate the easy movement of people and goods. The paper submits that the development of an efficient inter-modal transport system would minimize the frequent chaotic traffic congestion experienced by motorists and commuters on the Niger Bridge that links the two cities, and eastern and western states, with other parts of the country.