Following the government's announcement permitting the temporary operation of seven-seaters as public transport in Kigali, some owners of these vehicles have begun registering to offer these services. The unprecedented move is aimed at mitigating public transport challenges, one of which is the limited number of buses. ALSO READ: 7-seater vehicles allowed to carry passengers in Kigali In this article, The New Times examines five things you should know about the new measures. 1. Licenses last for two months Since it is a temporary intervention, seven-seaters are currently being granted a two-month license. Officials at the infrastructure ministry have not clarified whether the period will be extended or not, but say they are monitoring the situation on a daily basis. The government expects to ship in some new public buses by November, and with that, it is expected that the difficulty associated with transport in the city will be less. 2. A decision made after consultation with clients and transporters In a media interview on Sunday, October 8, infrastructure minister Jimmy Gasore said there were discussions that were held between relevant government institutions, private-public transport companies, and clients. ALSO READ: The rigours of public transport in Kigali Here, they got to acknowledge the issues, especially regarding the scarcity of buses on the city’s routes, and examined ways of addressing it. It was suggested that there are many people or companies that own big cars which are idle sometimes. The officials believe that such vehicles can be deployed to the streets by the owners to serve passengers, making money while serving people during the process. 3. Registration is aimed at protecting people Gasore said some car owners were already transporting passengers in the city using their private cars but were not registered for the service. He called upon them to register, noting that registration is aimed at protecting the people to whom the service is being offered. He said there is a need to know those who are offering such services for the purpose of the security of the passengers. 4. No taxes, registration fees The registration is free of charge, and the services will not attract taxes. The government is also working to put in place parking areas for such vehicles offering these services. In addition to this, the government’s temporary strategy also aims to work with bus owners to repair their vehicles so that there are more buses on the roads. ALSO READ: Govt to procure 300 buses to ease public transport in Kigali 5. Prices will be determined by negotiations between passengers and drivers The prices for boarding the seven-seaters will be determined by negotiations between the drivers and the passengers. Here, Gasore noted that some private car owners might have been reluctant to register their cars to render the services, fearing that they would be offered the same prices as buses. However, he clarified that the prices will be determined through negotiation.
