The government has announced a raft of changes in the operation of taxi moto riders in a bid to address challenges that have blighted the sector for years.

The changes were agreed upon during a consultative meeting that brought together different government agencies and the taxi moto operators which was held on Friday February 25.

The meeting followed the suspension of smart meters for taxi moto operators after several complaints from the motorists claiming unfair operations in their cooperatives, high taxes and high smart meter rates among others.

Here are five resolutions taken from the one-day meeting:

1.     Taxi moto cooperatives dissolved

Due to the complaints arising from management of their 41 cooperatives, the two parties agreed to dissolve them and fused them into five cooperatives.

It is said that some managers of cooperatives used riders' contributions for their own interests, and hence management will be simplified once they are reduced.

It was indicated during the meeting that the poorly managed cooperatives were the source of poor operations of taxi moto riders in Kigali.

2.     Smart meters’ rates increased

The meeting resolved to increase the smart metre rates, as the first two kilometre will charge Rwf 400 from the previous Rwf 300.

Rwf 135 will be applied to each additional kilometre covered for the rest of the journey.

3.     Tax arrears waived

In a move to facilitate tax payments for the taxi moto riders, all the tax arrears that the riders were owing the revenue body were waived, so as to facilitate them to pay the remaining taxes.

The riders were however urged to  make sure they meet their fiscal obligations going forward.

4.     Operation license fees scrapped

The license fee (Rwf 10,000) that all operators were charged every year to be able to operate was also scrapped.

Instead, it will be a one time payment of Rwf10,000 for the registration of a motorist before they can be allowed to operate.

 5.     Regulator’s special unit for taxi-moto

To ensure a smooth environment for the taxi moto operators, Rwanda Utilities and Regulatory Authority has also set up a special unit that will be monitoring daily interventions of taxi moto riders and addressing their issues.