Professionals working in Lagos, Nigeria spend about 4 hours per day commuting

Lagos is officially the most congested capital city in Nigeria, according to the latest workers commuting survey conducted by V-Park Management Solutions Limited, the first real professional parking company established in the country whose management are highly trained professionals with international recognition achieved via second-to-none overseas performance in parking management field. This survey was conducted among different groups of workers consisting of 10 commuters that were randomly selected in each of the 36 states in Nigeria.

The survey, which was conducted last month and released just 2 months after the official launch of a mobile electronic device called “Auto Inspector” in Ikeja, Lagos. This device is to check whether vehicles have valid documents without engaging in manual stop and check of vehicles’ papers.

Auto Inspector, is the first of its kind in Nigeria and its projected to help to reduce traffic gridlock on Lagos’ highways occasioned by police stop and check of vehicles’ documents. With the device, stolen vehicles can also be easily identified as the device could tell the name of the owners of such vehicles as well as the history of such vehicles.

We found that professionals working in Lagos still spend an average 3 hours and 55 minutes each day in total commuting time to and from their place of work for a 15km journey, the highest figure in Africa.

The journey times are particularly long for those commuting to Lagos from neighbouring Abeokuta, Ibadan, etc. It was noted that, much of the journey delays are caused by slow-moving bumper-to-bumper traffic due to bad roads, lack of effective transportation policy, police roads block encroachments, insufficient standard mass transit buses, poor roads maintenance, in-effective traffic enforcement activities and lack of on-street parking regulations. Many motorists reported high levels of stress and fatigue as a result.

According to V-Park survey, many employers in Lagos are becoming increasingly concerned at the impact of traffic-related stress and exhaustion on the productivity of their staff.

Abuja came second in the traffic rankings, with total daily commute time at 3 hours and 40 minutes on average.

Jos, by contrast, saw the lowest reported commute time, with employees spending on average just 1hour 46 minutes each day commuting. 

Aware of the traffic problem, the Lagos state government is taking drastic measures to reduce congestion by discouraging unnecessary long-hours car driving and encouraging people to use other modes of transportation schemes like park and ride facility in which they planned to build more in strategic areas of the state where traffic and parking challenges are high.

 Another measures currently been considered by most states government in Nigeria, is introduction of parking enforcement activities that would be back by appropriate parking regulations in support of its already established traffic management initiatives. Lagos state as an exception is also building a modern urban rail system, the City Metro, expected to come into service in early 2013.

Please watch out for our next survey result on the same subject in February 2012

Credit: V-Park's Survey Report

01/11/11

Switching small engine equipment out

Well winter is coming or if you are in the north eastern US has already come. With the changing season comes a change of seasonal toys and equipment. I have seen lots of equipment fail because it was put away incorrectly. Remember it costs a lot less to prevent issues than to pay some else to fix them. Also it is no fun when you need or want to use something and it doesn't work. 

I always check my equipment before I need it as I don't want to be stuck trying to get my snow blower running when there is 12 inches of snow on the ground. This way if it is broken you can get it repaired before you need it and not be stuck waiting for the shop to fix everyone else's equipment before they get to yours. So basically don't wait to check your equipment until the weather service issues a storm warning

To ensure that things are ready to go when I want to use them next I do the following. Apart from changing the engine oil all of these are applicable to 2 stroke and 4 stroke engines.


Putting Equipment away for the year:

1. Drain the fuel - I do this since gasoline does have a finite lifetime of about 6 months. Also modern gasoline has ethanol added to it which absorbs water. By draining the gas you prevent rust from forming in the gas tank if it has a steel tank, prevent water from getting into the gas, and also prevent varnish from forming that will plug up the carburetor. Once all of the fuel is out of the tank try to start the engine to get all the fuel that is left in the carburetor out.
2. Change the oil - All of my 4 stroke small engines get fresh oil put into them at the end of the season so that they don't sit there with old oil in them all winter. This also ensures that there is fresh oil when I want to use it.
3. Fog the engine - If you have never heard of this fogging the engine basically is to spray the cylinder with a fine oil that will prevent it from rusting and ceasing. You can buy special oil in an aerosol can for this purpose. The best way to fog an engine is to pull the spark plugs and spray the oil directly into the cylinder and then replace the spark plug.
4. Check or Replace the spark plugs - Since you have pulled the spark plugs you might as well check them to see if they are still go, and if not replace them if needed.

Getting equipment out for the year:

1. Put fresh fuel in the tank - This can be the fuel you just removed from the equipment you just put away so why not use it instead of letting it go to waste. If you left fuel in it from the year before it might be a bit questionable and should be drained and disposed of first.
2. Check any belts to make sure they are in good working order, not cracked, and have the right tension. Replace as needed.
3. Lube any chains and gears - This will prevent rust and ensure that they move freely. I find this especially helpful to do on the shoots of snow blowers so they don't frees or get stuck in place.
4. Start the engine and let it run - I have always found that the first time starting a piece of equipment each year is always the hardest. This will also let you know if it works correctly or if you need to have it repaired. 
5. Once running take off the air filter and spray some carburetor cleaner into the intake to clean out any deposits that may have formed. Don't let it stall but it will smoke as it is running really rich when you do this. A few (4 to 5) quick 1 second squirts with a few second wait between each will do wonders if the engine isn't running very well. Now go put the air filter back on it. Once done let the engine run for 10 to 15 minutes.

A Well Known Pastor Splashes Over N500 Million To Build Church CAR PARK

The Pastor Kumuyi-led Deeper Life Bible Church has spent over N500 million on expansion as its ultra modern worldwide headquarters church at Gbagada,Lagos nears completion. 

Information available to us revealed that the holiness preacher recently bought a whole street,Oduwaye Street,which lies directly opposite its 30,000 seater cathedral. 

Insiders squealed to us that the clergy actually held a meeting with all the landlords at Oduwaye Street and bidded for their property.After much bargaining,we learnt that each of the landlords submitted their offers.

According to our source, there were ten houses on one side of the street while Deeper Life sits on the opposite side.Out of the ten houses, Deeper Life owns two as its children church while six were residential and two were shopping complexes. 

We scooped that the least among the landlords accepted an offer of N80 million due to the development of the area while some got about N100 million. Consequently,the whole structures were demolished a couple of weeks back.

And the whole area fenced with barbed wire. Interestingly, our checks revealed that over N500 million exchanged hands and that the expansion was meant for car park. Meanwhile, the 30,000 seater ultra-modern headquarters of the ministry is due for completion in 2012.It is a mini stadium and we learnt it cost the church over N3 billion naira. An Italian firm,Cappa and D’Alberto won the contract for the construction.

Credit: Independent News

29/10/11

Audi Timing Belts

If you have a later model Audi, and you’re closing in on 100,000 miles you might be wondering why that timing belt change you’re looking at is so expensive, and what it involves.

The maintenance schedule simply says “replace timing belt at 105,000 miles” for most models.  They don’t really list any other parts, or talk about what’s involved.  There are two ways you can approach that work.

The first method is to slide the front bumper forward for access, take the covers off the front of the motor, and slip a new timing belt into place.  You might change a roller or two, and swap the serpentine belts, but the rest of the car remains untouched.

That’s the easiest job to do.  A skilled tech can bang the work out in a day.  But is that the best job for you as an owner?

If you plan to trade the car next month, it may seem like the way to go.  But if you plan on keeping your Audi another 100,000 miles, or you plan to pass it on to a kid or friend or anyone you care about, a different approach is probably called for.

At Robison Service, we do a lot of work for enthusiasts – people who ask a lot of their cars and really care about and for them.  Over time we’ve learned that the best repairs are the ones that last.  Often that means doing more work, not less, when tackling a big job.  Anytime we do a big job, we ask ourselves, “What else is going to give trouble soon,” and we address those items while the car is apart and it’s easy.  After all, it’s always smarter to spend two hundred dollars today, if it saves six hundred dollars next year. 

If you simply slap a timing belt onto a 100,000-mile Audi you can be assured that the job will not last another 100,000 miles.  More than likely, you will be doing the work over again, with additional repairs, within three years.  Why?  Because the timing belt is just one piece of a complex system, and the other pieces of the system can and will fail too, even though they are not on the maintenance schedule.

For example, the water pump is driven by the timing belt.  Most Audi water pumps make it to 100k miles.  I’ve never seen one last 200k.  The water pump is behind the timing belt, so its replacement calls for doing the timing belt all over again.  Installing a water pump during the timing belt job will cost a few hundred dollars, in most cases.  Replacing it two years later (and doing the timing belt and other work over again)  may well cost fifteen hundred more dollars, when everything is tallied up.

The timing belt is guided and tensioned by a number of rollers and springs, all of which wear out.  Those parts won’t last till 200k either, and if they fail, the timing belt can come off, leading to thousands of dollars in preventable engine damage.

All cars leak oil and coolant when they get old.  Audis are no exception.  The thing is, you can fix many of those leaks easily when the engine is apart.  A few extra hours may get rid of those annoying drips.

And drips can be more than an annoyance.  When oil or coolant leaks onto the exhaust, it’s a fire hazard.  When oil gets hot in summer, it makes an acrid stink that can be drawn inside the car when the AC is running.  Those are a few of the good reasons to fix your leaks while the motor is open.

What about everything else under the hood?  I believe a good technician should look the whole engine bay over carefully when doing any big job.  Who knows what’s about to fail?  There may be cracked hoses, leaking AC lines, or even a corroded and failing battery.  The time we open the hood for work may well be the only time anyone looks at those things until they fail.

As much as people hate to spend money, it’s easier and cheaper to change a battery when your car is already in the shop than it will be when it dies, in an empty parking lot, some cold winter night.  That idea exemplifies the difference in our philosophy.  We believe in identifying what may go wrong tomorrow, and fixing it while we do today's repair.  Other people believe is doing just what the schedule says, and no more.  There's a place for both ways of thinking; I believe our philosophy is more suited to long term ownership.

We apply this same preventative care approach to every car we service.  Sometimes it can surprise people.  They go to the Shop A and hear about two problems.  They come to us and we show them ten more things.  That doesn't make the first guy wrong - it just means we have a different approach and I like to think we are more through.

Robison Service is a four-star Bosch Car Service center.  We service Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes, Land Rover, Porsche, and Rolls Royce-Bentley automobiles.   We’re located right off exit 4 of I-291 in Springfield, Massachusetts.  Visit us online, or stop by the shop.  We're here from 8-5 Monday through Friday.   Phone us at 413-785-1665 

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Minister Launched "Operation Sanity" To Reduce Road Traffic Congestion in FCT Abuja

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed has called on the Federal Road Safety Corps to restrict the movement of heavy duty trucks and trailers in the FCT to reduce the carnage witnessed in roads in the city.

The Minister stated this while formally flagging off “Operation Sanity”, a patrol operation introduced by the FRSC to curb the increasing rate of road crashes as a result of recklessness on roads in the FCT.

The Minister said “I call on the FRSC and the Directorate of Road Transport Services to liaise with the FCT Administration to enforce the restriction of movement of tankers and trailers within the city at certain hours. On our own part as a responsible government, we shall continue in the pursuit of multimodal transport system to ease the pressure on our roads.

“We are going to have licensed taxis and Bus Rapid Transits, we can no longer close our eyes and see rickety vehicles operating in the city thereby constituting a menace and insecurity in the city.”

The Minister added that the ban on the operation of commercial motorcycles in the city is still on and called on the Police to refrain from using their motorbikes for commercial purposes as they are supposed to be involved in the enforcement of the ban.

He called on all stakeholders and other development partners to key into operation sanity as a way of further reducing road crash in the city.

“I recognize this pragmatic and proactive move by the Corps Marshal who is doing it out of sheer responsibility; it is not an operation for the FRSC, Police or the FCT Administration alone but an operation for all Nigerians.”

Earlier, in his opening address, Corps Marshall and Chief Executive of the FRSC Osita Chidoka said that the growing motorization and increasing human population are some of the major reasons for traffic congestion and crashes in the FCT.

He also described impatience, road rage and activities of security agencies that drive against traffic, drink driving, ineffective enforcement processes and individual attitudes as other factors for road crashes.

“Operation sanity is an attempt to address some of these traffic challenges, reverse the trend and restore sanity on our roads.This operation is a partnership between the FRSC and the FCT Administration; it is a launch of a one month intensive enforcement patrol operation along major corridors of the FCT to compel motorists to obey traffic rules and regulations” the Corps Marshal added.

Continuing, he stated that “over 350 specially trained personnel have been deployed for this exercise accompanied with 16 patrol vehicles, 4 dedicated ambulances and 2 medium capacity tow trucks”.

He also said that the operation will take place 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the duration of the assignment; mobile courts will be on ground to try traffic offenders as appropriate.

At the end of this exercise; according to Chidoka, “the outcome will be evaluated and communicated to determine options for sustenance”. He solicited for more assistance from the FCT administration in the area of provision of logistics in the operation.

Credit: Independent Reporter (Africa News)

19/10/11

We won't be feeding data to CARFAX. Here's why . . .

Yesterday I got a call from a CARFAX representative who wanted me to upload my repair database to their servers so it could be included in what CARFAX reports on cars we may have serviced.

I sought opinions about that on my blog and Facebook page, and thought about the matter at some length.  I’ve decided it’s not a good idea for my company, and indeed for most independents, for these reasons:

Customers have an expectation of privacy, especially in small business dealings.  They don’t expect us to sell their names to marketers.  While CARFAX is not collecting names in this example, anyone buying a car and following its trail to our shop necessarily makes a connection to our clients, who may or may not want to share that information.

While some of our clients might well embrace the CARFAX concept, I am sure others would be very troubled at this release of information that might be traced back to them. 

That alone is reason for independent shops to steer clear of this program, but there’s more.

CARFAX claims they are extracting or summarizing what shops write on their work orders using some kind of automated process.  The result, as shown in the sample area of their website, will look something like this:

12/10/10    ABC Garage    Electrical Repair

2/1/11   BBB Garage    Oil service

I have a number of serious concerns about this process.  One concern is that CARFAX will incorrectly “summarize” what is written in our repair orders, leading to a misleading or totally wrong CARFAX report.  For example, consider the fellow who brings his off-road Jeep in five times in five months to add driving lights, fit a bigger stereo, install a winch, upgrade the alternator, and fit more driving lights.

Will that show up as five “electrical repairs?” If it does, who does the owner blame for that wrong report?  CARFAX?  Us?  It’s a situation where we will be blamed and we have no control or recourse; indeed we can’t even know what’s happening because we have no access to the reports.

The problem is, if we hand someone our information, we have a responsibility to our clients, to be sure they use it correctly.  CARFAX is not offering us that ability, but even if they did, why would we want to do it for them?

You have a situation where our sharing of innocent repair data might create a false impression that a car is a lemon, or at least needs constant repairs.  That could turn off some buyers, and it’s easy to see how the vehicle owner would blame us if he lost a sale.  One such negative would outweigh a hundred customers who think “it’s ok,” in my experience.  That negative could cause us a lot of bad press.  “It’s okay,” is indifferent at best and counts for nothing in terms of our reputation in the community.

CAARFAX argues that the addition of service data enhances the value of a car, by proving it’s well cared for.  While that may be true, who does the data benefit?  They imply it benefits our clients but I don’t think that’s really so.  If our clients are selling a car, they already tell potential buyers that we care for it, and we are its reference.  CARFAX adds nothing to that situation.

If our client has not cared for his car faithfully, the existence of a spotty record is a minus.  Maybe that means he didn’t take good care of his car, but it may also mean he has a winter home in Florida and the shop that does the rest of the work down there does not report to CARFAX.  Once again, our contribution of data creates a false negative impression that could come back to bite us.

If anyone wants to know how our clients cars were cared for, all they have to do is ask . . .  In the latter example, we’d say, “Bob has some of his work done in Florida, so ask them too.”  The difference is obvious.

The true beneficiaries of the CARFAX data are dealers, who buy used cars at auction, and the CARFAX company itself.  Our clients are out of the picture once the car is traded in.

CARFAX says we benefit too, because a prospective buyer can look at the record and see we serviced the car.  That sounds true, but a large percentage of cars that get traded in are auctioned and resold out of the local market.  That negates any advertising advantage we might get by appearing in the listing.

Auto service is a local proposition.  Local people will refer us directly.  Distant people don’t matter in most cases.  It’s a tenuous proposition at best.

I’d be interested in other views on this topic.