ATRACO uncertain on city transport solution

The Commuter Transporters’ Association (ATRACO) authorities have expressed uncertainty over an immediate solution to the prevailing public transport problem. The transport crisis has hit the city with many cases of people being stranded during peak hours in the morning and evenings when city residents are commuting to and from work. Hassan Ngeze, the Vice- President of ATRACO, yesterday said that they had done all they could to ease the problem by increasing the number of mini and omnibuses but the problem has persisted. “The problem of shortage of taxis during the morning and evening hours is mostly because people want to move at the same time, but during other hours of the day, you these buses are idle with no passengers,” he said. He added that the problem of traffic jams could be another cause as it delays vehicles that ferry commuters to different destinations to return and take others. “You may find that it takes about two hours for a taxi to go to a place like Remera and come back due to the traffic jams, so when people complain, they must also consider that problem is general,” he added. Recently, the traffic police boss was quoted as saying that there has been a big increase in traffic which the current road networks are not capable of handling. Meanwhile, passengers who were found stranded at Rubangura main Taxi stop in downtown Kigali do not share the same view concerning this problem with the transporters. “The problem here most especially with taxis prying the Rubangura-Remera route is caused by drivers who prefer going to nearby areas like Kacyiru and Gikondo to save their fuel,” said Margaret Kabanyana. She continued that it is a common phenomenon to find five mini-buses calling out for people going to Kacyiru with none going to Remera which shows that the drivers use the busy hours to create shortage to merit their own gains. They insisted that instead of looking at importing more buses they should workout ways of regulating the operators based on the routes they should ply to avoid this unnecessary shortage that is created by the drivers. “This problem has been here for long and many of us have become victims as we are being robbed of our belongings and those who are weak find it difficult to board a taxi,” said Jacques Mazimpaka who was also found at Rubangura taxi stop. Anonciata Iribagiza, speaking from Rubangura also observed that some taxis decide to create the town—Kanombe--Airport route charging Rwf 300 while targeting those going to Remera. Recently a report on the transport problem in Kigali City was compiled by members of the lower Chamber of Parliament who agreed to summon the Minister of Infrastructure to explain remedies that are being devised to solve it. Ends

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ATRACO uncertain on city transport solution