Transport fares hiked as schools close

Transport fares were hiked Friday by some operators coinciding with schools holidays. A driver with ATRACO, a transport company, told The Sunday Times that they charged Rwf 2500 instead of the usual Rwf 1500 on the Ruhango-Kigali route because this is a rare opportunity to make a lot of money. “This is an occasion that comes once in a while. One has to use it profitably to make as much money as possible, especially when there is shortage of transport means,” the driver who preferred not to be put in print said. Jean Habumuremyi, a driver who plies the Kigali-Gisenyi route said that the bus fare has not changed but during the evening some drivers tend to hike the price simply because vehicles are few compared to the number of passengers. “When passengers are more than the number of vehicles available, drivers behave like that.” He further explained that some drivers, especially those who travel from provinces to Kigali, in the evenings need the extra money for accommodation since they don’t have homes in Kigali. Cynthia Umugwaneza, a student who was travelling from Muhanga district, told the Sunday Times that they were charged Rwf 2000 instead of Rwf 1500. The reason behind the extra Rwf 500 was that the students were many yet the taxis were few and because they had no better option, they complied. This apparently seems to be the trend every time students are either going back or from school. The Minister of Infrastructure recently told parliament that this problem would soon be resolved. Ends