On Thursday, October 15, RURA announced new public transport tariffs after the government recently lifted restrictions on public transportation, allowing buses to fill all their seats and at least 50 per cent of the standing passengers. According to RURA’s new pricelist, journey fares were relatively reduced both in the City of Kigali, and in the four provinces of the country, namely Southern, Northern, Eastern, and Western. The reductions varied from destination to destination. For instance, in Kigali, the Remera Taxi Park-Chez Lando-Kacyiru-Nyabugogo Taxi Park route will now be charged at Rwf324 instead of the Rwf367 that passengers used to pay during lockdown. The same route used to cost Rwf260 before Covid-19 hit. A number of people that reacted to RURA’s new prices expressed dissatisfaction on social media– saying the reduction in the prices does not reflect the changes that were made allowing buses in the city to carry at full seating capacity and 50 percent for the standing passengers. Among others, the Kacyiru-Kimihurura-Down Town Taxi Park route is now charged at Rwf257, instead of Rwf383 during lockdown; the Remera-Mulindi-Masaka is now at Rwf341 from Rwf396; and the Remera-Kabeza-Rubirizi is now at Rwf130 from Rwf 239. For upcountry travel, there were also reductions in prices. For instance, the Nyabugogo-Musanze-Rubavu route is now at Rwf4,040 from Rwf4,800; the Ngororero-Rubavu route is at Rwf2,470 from Rwf2,640; and the Rubavu-Karongi route is at Rwf2,660, from Rwf3,630. Speaking to The New Times, Col. Patrick Nyirishema the Director-General of RURA, explained the new prices saying that they should not be compared with pre-Covid-19 fares since this review is in line with the normal change of prices every after two years by the regulator. “The pre-Covid-19 prices had been established in early 2018 and they were valid for two years. In March 2020, we were supposed to publish new tariffs, but the process coincided with Covid-19 and the lockdown,” he said. “So the prices we have established now are those that should actually have been established in March of this year for the provinces. We didn’t do it in March because after the lockdown, operators were working at 50 percent capacity and so we had to put higher prices, though in reality, even these prices were not high enough for the operators not to operate in losses at that time,” he added.
