Bus companies plying the Kigali-Kampala and Kigali-Bujumbura routes were yesterday hit by a shortage of passengers, a far cry from the influx of passengers in the run-up to Christmas.

The buses, according to operators, were yesterday moving almost empty. Some of the operators that were affected include Jaguar Executive Coaches, Kampala Coach, Trinity Express, Yahoo Car Express, Baby Coach, among others.

Speaking to The New Times at Nyabugogo International Bus Terminal yesterday, Vianney Mbonye, a ticketing officer at Jaguar said many people have already left for Christmas.

"Today (yesterday), we had very few passengers travelling to Kampala. Most of the seats were empty,” he said, citing the Kigali-Kampala jaguar coach via Kagitumba border post that had only four passengers.

Mbonye said three days to Christmas, they experienced an influx of passengers that left many people stranded.

"We expected this. It happens during this period. We shall compensate towards New Year as many people will be travelling again,” he said.

The fares remained stable. Passengers travelling from Kigali to Kampala parted with Rwf8,000.

Emmanuel Uherekejimfura, the assistant manager of Trinity Express, which also plies Kigali-Kampala route, said  passengers have been few since Monday morning.

"We are getting few bookings for people travelling on 27th onwards for the New Year celebrations,” he noted.

He said the business was not deeply affected because for the last three days, they had registered full bookings, hence making up for the losses.