Public transport: RURA invites bids from interested operators

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Times Reporter

Passengers queue as they wait for buses at the taxi park in downtown Kigali in June. File

Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) has called for fresh bids from interested parties to operate public transport in the City of Kigali.

"RURA in partnership with RTDA (Rwanda Transport Development Agency), the City of Kigali, and MININFRA (Ministry of Infrastructure) wish to bring to the attention of interested parties that a competitive route licensing process for provision of public transport services in the City of Kigali has been initiated,” a public notice, dated October 14 but released today, reads in part.

The regulator says it arrived at the decision after considering the "contracts of provision of public transport services in the City of Kigali signed on August 29, 2013 between RURA and transport companies and their extensions”.

The move comes more than a year after the expiry of the contracts signed by three public transport companies that first won the tender back in 2013.

Each of the three firms; Kigali Bus Services (KBS), Royal Express, and Rwanda Federation of Transport Cooperative (RFTC) had been given specific routes to operate over a period of five years.

Last year authorities extended the contracts by one year pending findings from a year-long Road Restructuring Study. The period was further extended by another six months to allow for further review of their companies’ services and completion of new terms of service.

The outcomes of the study will help inform terms under which the next operators will execute their contract(s), city officials said in the past.

"RURA wishes to inform interested investors that the Request for Proposals are available at RURA upon payment of Rwf100, 000,” the notice, signed by Director General Lt Col Patrick Nyirishema, reads in part.

It adds that "bidders’ workshops” will be conducted next week, on Wednesday and Thursday in the capital Kigali.

Members of the public have previously expressed frustration at the service of the three current operators and they will be hoping that the second generation of public transport licence(s) will help address most of their concerns.