A ban on motorcycle taxis is causing chaos in Lagos

ON A BUSY street in Lagos, Nigeria’s business centre, the usual horde of motorbike-taxis jolting passengers through evening gridlock is palpably absent. The men who used to ride them sit idly. “How do we feed our families?” asks Stanley, a former rider.The authorities confiscated his motorbike after suddenly banning two- and three-wheeled taxis, known as (after a now-defunct airline, for their ability to soar over traffic) and . The ban, which was imposed on February 1st across big parts of the city, was intended to make commuting safer. City authorities absurdly blame the motorbikes for congestion and, somewhat more plausibly, for being involved in accidents. Further issues, they said, were that motorbikes are used by criminals and have no place in the master plan they have drawn up to improve the city.