Understanding the Scale of the Oshodi Transport Interchange

The Oshodi Transport Interchange (OTI) is much more than a bus station; it is a sprawling, $70 million architectural feat designed to function as the beating heart of Lagos’s transit system. At its core, the facility was engineered to handle a staggering one million passengers daily, a capacity necessitated by Oshodi’s status as the busiest transport hub in West Africa. Before its transformation, the area was a chaotic sprawl of 13 different motor parks; today, it is a centralized, world-class business district that consolidates that energy into a structured, safe, and efficient environment.

The design of the interchange is a masterclass in multi-level logistics, split into three distinct terminals to manage the massive flow of commuters. Terminal 1 serves as the gateway for long-distance, interstate travel, connecting Lagos to the rest of Nigeria and even West African neighbors. Terminal 2 is dedicated to intercity routes, specifically servicing the Abule Egba BRT corridor and routes toward Apapa. Terminal 3 handles high-frequency metropolitan traffic to areas like Lagos Island and Ikorodu. This separation ensures that even at peak capacity, the "one million" target can be managed without the crushing congestion that once defined the area.

​A key feature that allows the OTI to process such high volumes is its focus on "pedestrian-first" engineering. The interchange features a massive skywalk bridge the longest free-standing bridge of its kind in Nigeria which allows passengers to transition between terminals without ever interacting with the vehicular traffic below. By moving 1,000,000 daily pedestrians onto elevated walkways and through organized ticketing halls, the design eliminates the conflict between humans and buses, which was the primary cause of the "Oshodi gridlock" for decades.

​Beyond transportation, the OTI is designed as a self-sustaining urban ecosystem. To cater to the millions passing through each week, the facility incorporates shopping malls, food courts, driver lounges, and even a hotel and tech hub. This "terminal-as-a-city" approach means that the economic activity generated by the passengers stays within the facility, providing a clean and secure environment for vendors who previously had to peddle their wares in the middle of dangerous highways.

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