Local taxi-hailing solution Move, which is owned by Volkswagen Rwanda has revised their rates upwards, a move which they say was occasioned by recent pricing regulations set by the Rwanda Utility Regulatory Authority (RURA).

The firm’s rates have been adjusted from Rwf450 per kilometre to Rwf610 per kilometre.

The pricing of rides also goes beyond distance covered to incorporate the time component, which was Rwf45 per minute.

The time factor the firm said is dependent on traffic and often leads to price differences in the same distance.

Past months have seen the firm come under fire on social media from clients who pointed out a number of flaws in operations.

Many cited the unpredictability of the prices of rides, while others cited challenges in accessing the taxis.

Some clients cited that the prices are often out of range, inconsistent and unpredictable.

During the revision of the pricing, the firm admitted to experiencing technical issues which they said they are in the process of addressing.

"The new pricing required technical changes on the Move Platform. The changes caused a series of momentary technical issues. VW mobility team is following up on each case diligently and attending to the queries,” Nadege Gaju, the head of sales and marketing, said.

The ride-hailing solution currently has about 50 Polovehicles in use with plans of increasing them to 100 by year-end.

The firm commenced operations last year using an application developed by a local firm Awesomity Lab.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com