RUHANGO- Public transporters and passengers in Ruhango district have appealed to the district authorities to get them a taxi park as a way of promoting their safety. Speaking to The New Times, taxi operators noted that the current park cannot accommodate the rising number of vehicles. Taxi operators in the district operate in a small space which can hardly receive more than 20 mini-buses at a time. “We cannot operate safely in these conditions. This place is too small to be called a taxi park”, said Camille Misago. “Other taxi parks are well built and have infrastructure for both passengers and cars. Here there are even no restrooms”. Emmanuel Ndiyunze, who often takes a taxi from the car park, said: “It’s situated by the road side and as it is not really an organized car park, it might result into accidents. Each driver comes in and gets out as they wish. This place is not safe,” he said. Speaking to The New Times, the district Vice Mayor in charge of economic affairs, Epimaque Ndikumana, said efforts to get a modern car park are underway. According to the official, the district has identified two potential sites for the construction of the taxi park. “We are currently sensitizing investors to swing into action, but another option is to build the car park on our own and then privatize it later”, Ndikumana said, adding that they plan to raise funds for the activities in the 2012-2013 budget.
