RURA to set taxi cab fares

The country’s utility regulator is moving in to fix standard charges for special hire taxis as one way of harmonising the transport fare.Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) says by having standard taxi cab fares it will facilitate many to access the services especially where public transport is not available., “We have been having a challenge of taxi operators charging without exact parameters like the distance taken which has been causing misunderstanding between the consumer and the operators,” said Beata Mukangabo, Head of legal and corporate affairs on Tuesday in Kigali.The proposed tariff here indicates that, taxi cabs working at the airport will be charging Rwf 509 per kilometer, taxis operating Kigali will charge Rwf 433 per kilometer while to hire a taxi for a day will be Rwf 42,000 Value Added Tax-VAT exclusive. According Mukangabo, in setting up tariffs all costs are incurred by taxi operators including cost for the car to have a win-win situation.Under this tariff, all taxi cabs will be required to install meters which will be able to calculate the distance taken in kilometer when the car is in motion and also calculate waiting time which will be charged differently. “The tariffs will help these operators to make enough money while consumers also get better services at affordable price,” she addedIt is expected that the proposed tariffs will be presented before the regulatory board which according to the law is given one month to take the final decision.Deogratius Kayitare of Kigali taxi service notes that the meter tariff will help in addressing the challenge of setting charges which has been difficult since no parameters were used.“People fear using taxi cabs saying it’s expensive,” he says adding “but this meter is going to help the customer to know that they are not being cheated”.Nevertheless, experts still say that the charges set are still high and it is only the operators who will be benefiting which will still hold back many from using the taxi cabs, currently being promoted to ease transport in the city.“But that money is still high comparing to what taxi moto(motorcycles) charge, we know it is safer and faster but we would like prices to go down,” Sandrine Uwamariya said.If this proposal is passed, it will follow the fixed tariffs that regulator set for transport operators for taxis and buses working around Kigali and up country which has protected consumers from being cheated by transport operators.

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RURA to set taxi cab fares