The federal government has opened up the general public transport marketplace for buses owned by people as a measure to take care of shortage of automobiles and lengthy queues within the metropolis.
Previous to the transfer, solely public transport corporations or cooperatives had been allowed to hold passengers within the metropolis.
The brand new tips issued by the Ministry of Infrastructure on Tuesday, November 28 acknowledged that the measures will begin to be applied from December 15 this yr.
“A cooperative, firm or particular person who owns a bus (a number of) that meets the necessities for public transportation within the Metropolis of Kigali might be allowed to move individuals after being given a RURA (Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority) license,” reads a part of the rules.
Those that might be authorised to hold passengers beneath the brand new tips will function in corridors made up of assorted roads, with every highway having a minimum of two operators.
The buses which can be allowed to hold passengers within the metropolis ought to be a minimum of 29-seaters, in response to the ministry. Greater buses that carry 70 or extra passengers might be given precedence on larger roads within the metropolis to make sure ample passenger service.
All operators are required to have cashless fee techniques in place.
The licenses issued for the operators might be legitimate for five years however might be prolonged after that.
The ministry requested buyers to first method RURA to ensure that they meet the necessities earlier than buying the buses.
In the meantime, as a method of coping with shortage of public buses within the metropolis, the federal government ordered for 200 new buses from China. 100 of those are anticipated to achieve the nation earlier than December, whereas the remaining will arrive in January 2024.
