SOTRA tour company loses public transportation licence

Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) has revoked the operating licence of SOTRA Tours over noncompliance with road transport regulations. SOTRA is one of the companies that were dedicated routes in the countryside during the rearrangement of the public transport sector two years ago. According to RURA, the decision took immediate effect when it was issued on Monday. Speaking to The New Times, Emmanuel Asaba Katabarwa, the head of transport sector regulation at RURA, he said the company was summoned and warned but failed to meet the requirements. “We had meetings with them many times and told them to fulfill the requirements. We also set up a committee to assess all the issues and found out that the company has a lot of problems. We even suspended it for three months in 2014 and now it is time to make the tough but right decision,” Katabarwa said. He said the company had erred in many ways, including illegal change of transport fares, a practice he said was trait for poor competition behaviour. Katabarwa cited an example of the Kigali-Huye route, one of the routes that had been dedicated to the company, where SOTRA charged Rwf2,000 instead of the standard Rwf2,500 fare. This, according to Katabarwa, was aimed at outcompeting other companies operating the route. The company was also faulted for disrespecting time, which always affected passengers. Other irregularities include giving false information about shareholders and disrespect of dedicated routes. Transport not affected SOTRA Tours has 42 buses that have been operating on the Kigali-Huye and Kigali-Rusizi routes. Katabarwa said the decision will not affect transport on the routes since Horizon and Volcano companies are active on the routes. He added that RURA will help drivers who have been working with SOTRA on how they can be kept in employment. He also urged other companies to comply with transport rules and regulations to provide good services and avoid similar problems. When The New Times visited SOTRA Tours offices in Nyabugogo Bus Park, the offices were open and employees were at their desks but idle and not selling any tickets. Efforts to seek more information from the company were fruitless as they referred this newspaper to their boss, who was out of office and out of reach by available means at the time. Similarly, efforts to contact Thierry Kimana, the managing director of SOTRA Tours, were futile as calls to his known telephone contact went unanswered and had not returned the call by press time. In Nyabugogo, travellers The New Times spoke to said they were yet to feel the void of one company out of operation, saying business was normal. “We have no problem because there are other travel agencies that have bridged the gap. I think it will only be more problematic when students are returning for holidays because this is when we have many travellers,” said Alice Mukamana, a traveller. There are more than 30 travel companies that are operating in Rwanda’s public transport sector. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

News

SOTRA tour company loses public transportation licence