Parliament to scrutinize strategies for addressing public transport woes

The Lower Chamber of Parliament’s committee on economy and trade is set to look into the implementation of strategies indicated by the Government in line with addressing issues affecting public transport services in the City of Kigali and four provinces of the country. This follows Parliament’s approval of an analysis made by the Standing Committee on Political Affairs and Gender on the 2021/2022 Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) report, in which public transport service-related issues were exposed. ALSO READ: Kigali needs over 500 buses to address public transport woes RGB made an assessment of public transport service delivery. Overall, that assessment revealed that the performance of public transport was appreciated at a rate of 64.42 per cent, with passenger satisfaction level of less than 60 per cent for more than half of the indicators considered. Concerning the time spent by passengers while waiting for buses in the City of Kigali, the satisfaction rate was even lower – at 31.67 per cent, according to the RGB report. The Chairperson of the Committee on Political Affairs and Gender, MP Furaha Emma Rubagumya, said that the issues that were still hindering public transport in the City of Kigali and provinces include infrastructure such as roads. ALSO READ: Transporters push for dedicated lanes for public buses During discussion of those issues between the Committee members and officials from the Ministry of Infrastructure, the City of Kigali and the Rwanda utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), Rubagumya said, they indicated that there many measures to address them including increasing the number of public buses in the City of Kigali. “They told me that they were procuring about 305 [more] public buses, and considering setting dedicated lanes for bus lanes on the existing roads, during the time people go to and from work,” she said. ALSO READ: Govt to procure 300 buses to ease public transport in Kigali Meanwhile, Rubagumya said that the leaders of the concerned public entities talked about other measures such as increasing the number of roads. ALSO READ: Proposed feeder roads in Kigali 'will ease' public transport woes The issue has since been taken up by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economy and Trade for further scrutiny.

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Parliament to scrutinize strategies for addressing public transport woes