Lagos.Cool Editorial
Maryland sits right at the Third Mainland Bridge approach — geographically perfect for Island commuting. But the Maryland interchange is one of Lagos's worst traffic chokepoints. BRT from the nearby Yaba terminal bypasses this entirely.
The trick, then, is to sidestep the Maryland interchange rather than fight it. Commuters who know the route drop onto the bridge approach early or walk the short distance to the Yaba BRT terminal, whose dedicated lane skips the worst of the chokepoint entirely and runs to CMS in 20-30 minutes off-peak. Danfo toward Obalende and CMS is constant and cheap, while Bolt is a comfortable moderate fare that surges at bridge hours. Whichever you choose, the interchange — not the 12km distance — is the thing to time around.
For a Maryland resident working on Victoria Island, the geography is close to ideal and the commute is genuinely good once you have solved the interchange. Clear it before the morning build-up, or lean on the BRT to bypass it, and VI is a quick, predictable run — one reason Maryland holds its appeal as a well-connected, mid-market base for Island workers.
Coming home is the harder leg: from 5 PM the Island-to-mainland side of the bridge and the Maryland interchange both back up together, so an early finish or the Yaba BRT bypass matter just as much on the return. Solve the interchange in both directions and Maryland to VI is genuinely one of the easier Island commutes.