Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) officials have said that public transport operators who illegally increased fares will face penalties of up to Rwf200,000.

RURA indicated that some operators took advantage of recent fuel price adjustments to increase fares beyond the approved limits, in some cases charging up to Rwf2,000 for routes where the set fare does not exceed Rwf1,400.

Most violations were recorded among non-express (multi-stop) operators, commonly known as Twegerane.

The authority announced on Friday, April 17, that about 100 public transport operators had been fined for illegally increasing fares following the recent revision of transport tariffs in early April.

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According to RURA, the penalties were issued after routine inspections targeting compliance in the transport sector. The fines range between Rwf100,000 and Rwf200,000 depending on the nature of the violation.

Some operators were penalised for charging passengers above the approved fares, while others were found not issuing tickets to passengers, according to the authority.

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Authorities are also considering promoting cashless payment systems to address challenges related to lack of change, which has been cited as one of the contributing factors to fare inconsistencies.

Passengers were encouraged to report irregularities through RURA's toll-free line 2222 or official social media platforms.

The pump prices, which were announced on April 3 by RURA, set the maximum retail price of gasoline (petrol) at Rwf2,303 per litre, up from Rwf1,989 per litre. Diesel prices also increased from Rwf1,948 to a maximum of Rwf2,205 per litre. Inclusive of Value Added Tax, the prices took effect on April 4 at 6am.

RURA said the adjustments were driven by trends on the international market, alongside government efforts to cushion the domestic economy from global fuel price fluctuations.

In a related move, the regulator also updated public transport fares. The base fare in the City of Kigali was set at Rwf59.28 per passenger per kilometre, while intercity transport fares were fixed at Rwf41.58 per passenger per kilometre. The revised transport tariffs took effect on April 6.

Though currently, petrol prices on the pump have been increased to Rwf2,938 per litre, up from Rwf2,303, while diesel remains unchanged at Rwf2,205, following a new tariff announced by the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) on April 16.