Kigali may not have lanes that are solely dedicated to buses due to limited financial resources to implement the anticipated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). However, Kigali city authorities say they are in talks with the World Bank to secure funding for the project.

BRT system, which is also called a busway or transit way, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability, and other quality features than a conventional bus system. It includes roads that are dedicated to buses and gives priority to buses at intersections where buses may interact with other traffic. It is also designed with features to reduce delays caused by passengers boarding or leaving buses, or paying fares.

Experts say the system is able to reduce the use of private cars to reduce congestion and air pollution in Kigali. However, due to the lack of this system, city dwellers have been complaining about traffic congestion and long queues while waiting for buses.

According to City Engineer Emmanuel Asaba Katabarwa, the delays in the BRT system implementation were caused by limited financial resources to conduct feasibility studies.

The feasibility of the BRT system was one of the topics discussed during a meeting on sustainable modes of transport in cities held on October 19 and gathered engineers and urban planners from Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Egypt, and Ethiopia to share experiences.

"The BRT system will help reduce long queues of commuters waiting to board buses. We have spent over a year discussing with the World Bank about financing the BRT system in Kigali. The tender to conduct feasibility studies under World Bank funding is set to be launched and experts will soon embark on studies,” Katabarwa said.

He added that the city is also engaging public transport companies to increase buses on routes in Kigali.

"Having enough public transport buses is part of the requirements to implement the BRT system. We also have to upgrade Nyabugogo bus terminal,” he said.

Rwf45 billion had earlier been estimated to be spent on upgrading the bus terminal.

However, the final cost will be revealed by the ongoing studies.

He said there is a need for 500 buses in the capital, each carrying from between 39 and 70 passengers to ensure the BRT system operates efficiently.

"When such modern buses will have dedicated lanes without interfering with private cars, public transport will be more efficient,” Katabarwa said.

City Centre-Airport Road BRT is set to serve as a pilot for the BRT system, according to officials.

He also said that dedicated lanes should have pedestrian and cycling lanes.

Experts weigh in on BRT feasibility

Edwin Mhede, the CEO of Dar Rapid Transit Agency, who is in Kigali to share their experience, said that the Bus Rapid Transit system is currently active in Dar es Salaam.

"For a BRT project to become successful, you need to have a very defined legal system which will provide incentives for both public and private sectors to jointly invest because construction projects are very expensive.

We have to make sure entrepreneurs are enabled to invest in the transport system. Government should take a lead role to construct infrastructures and then bring in the private sector for the operational aspect,” he said.

Mhede said that when infrastructures such as dedicated lanes for only public buses are available the private sector will increase buses and ensure they operate 24 hours.

"We need a public-private partnership law and political will for that to be possible,” he noted.

He emphasized that for an efficient BRT system, there must be a fair and efficient collection of commuters that is automatic with real-time data.

"There must be high-standard IT systems to monitor the BRT operations. BRT is about scheduling. In the initial design, there must be an estimation to see transit traffic, the number of vehicles and commuters coming in a day to be able to schedule and ensure efficient flow of traffic,” he said.

Mhede said that before Bus Rapid Transit in Dar es Salaam commuters would spend three hours to reach the city center.

"Today the time has reduced to 45 minutes and without continuous improvement, it will reduce to 25 minutes,” he said.

Maureen Kinyua, an urban planning manager working with Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) ‑ a non-governmental non-profit organization that focuses on developing bus rapid transit systems, biking, walking, and non-motorized transport said that the transport system should ensure accessibility to jobs among other services.

"Cities should plan for the city by encouraging people to reduce the use of private cars. For the BRT system to be possible, it requires political will,” she said.

She said that they are working with the city of Kigali to improve the public transport system as well as non-motorized transport.