Commuter transportation firm, Kigali Bus Services (KBS), has introduced twenty full-size buses, each with a capacity of 80 passengers.

The buses, which are an addition to a fleet of 40 operational ones, started their operations yesterday on KBS’s regular Kigali routes; Kanombe, Kimironko, Kabeza and Nyamirambo, all suburbs of Kigali City.

With an increase in the number of buses, the company aims to open new routes including Kinyinya, Kacyiru, Nyabugogo, Nyenyeri and Kimisagara, to solve the prevailing scarcity of public transport in the city.

"Now that we have increased our fleet, we will start going to areas which have less vehicles, or are almost inaccessible,” said Lambert Mucyo, KBS’s deputy manager.

The smart card ticketing system in the new buses is also technologically enhanced, compared to the regular ones.

Customers will soon begin topping up their smart cards by directly transferring money from their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards.

"We are concluding talks with some banks here, to begin reloading our customers’ smart cards using ATM cards. Our personnel, who will be staged at various mobile stops, will always assist willing customers to transfer specific amounts from their ATMs to smart cards.”

With this system, the company hopes to avoid having its clients stranded yet they have money in the bank, according to Mucyo.

The stage of "tracing an ATM machine to withdraw cash” will be eliminated because of the direct transfer, to save time.

The new buses also have an in built tech-control system, which will allow the manager to monitor the daily operations of the buses.

"We will be able to monitor their speed, for customer safety. We will also know where the bus is, and what is happening to the buses.”

KBS became the first transporter to acquire the smart card ticketing in the region.

It will ship in forty more buses before the end of the year, as told by Mucyo.

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