Boom Time For Keke Riders

A number of Lagosians are now compelled to get to their various destinations by tricycle rides courtesy of the restriction of the movement of commercial motorcycles to fewer routes.

Consequently, the sales figure of different brands of tricycles plying various routes in Lagos has risen with some dealers claiming they are finding it tough meeting the demands of buyers.

The dealers have to wait in line for the major importers to bring the product into the country before the distributors can acquire it for sale.

At an outlet in Ojodu Berger where tricycles usually filled the showroom with some on display few months ago, only one tricycle was available when the reporter visited the place last week. The dealer told P.M.NEWS Businessweek that lately, supply hardly meets demand. “We are expecting a container, hopefully next week. Tricycles have become a bit scarce,” he said.

Although the Lagos State government began the enforcement of the commercial motorcycle or ‘okada’ ban in October 2012 on 474 designated routes, the attendant upsurge in demand has not led to an increase in price. This may be because the N400,000 price has always been considered expensive in the first place.

The tricycles which are imported from Italy, China and India also come with spare parts which prices have remained reasonable.

Rev. Lambart Ekewuba, the Executive Director, Motorcycle/Tricycle Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, told P.M.NEWS Businessweek  that the price of tricycles has remained stable because the dealers have been mandated to maintain the current price. The decision was reached based on the fact that most of the new entrants into tricycle business were those that managed to buy tricycles after being forced to abandon the motorcycle business. Any extra cost would be an unfair burden for the tricycle riders, he added.

When MOMAN got information last week that three companies attempted to jack-up the prices of their tricycles, the association had to intervene to check them. At Willoughby street, Ebute Metta, Lagos where there are plenty of tricycle and motorcycle dealers, some of the dealers who spoke with P.M.NEWS Businessweek  revealed that many people who wanted to purchase tricycles for transportation business are wary.

“This is due to their apprehension over what is regarded as “unpredictable government policy. The fear is that government may still restrict the movement of even the tricycles on some routes, which will translate to a loss for those that may have newly invested in its purchase,” Ekewuba added.

P.M.NEWS Businessweek  gathered that while the sales figure for tricycles have improved considerably due to the partial ban on commercial motorcyclists on many routes in Lagos, it has not surpassed the demand for brand-new motorcycles which are still a major means of movement in many states in the country, especially in the north, where it is yet to be banned.

Generally, more units of motorcycles are still being sold, even more than the tricycles. Daily, trucks are loaded at Willoughby street with various brands of motorcycles and transported to various parts of the country and even across the Nigerian borders.

Martins Okeke, a motorcycle and tricycle dealer on Willoughby street, told our reporter that apart from the tricycles’ expensive price of N400,000, a sum that is more than enough to buy three new motorcycles, completing payment on its hire-purchase terms is quite a challenge. While payments on the tricycles may take over a year, hire-purchase sums on motorcycles can be settled usually within six months by riders committed to the business.

However, within MOMAN, there have been projections in some quarters that a real shortage in supply, due to the sudden increase in demand of the tricycles may soon be witnessed, since the manufacturers in Europe and Asia have factories with installed capacity that may require being stepped-up in tune with higher demands.

With more states warming up to chase commercial motorcycle operators off the streets in a bid to reduce crime and deadly accidents, the boom in tricycle sales may not end any time soon.

—Funsho Balogun