Rwanda National Police (RNP) has appealed to taxi-moto operators to adhere to mandatory use of meters and cashless payment systems when charging their clients.
Rwanda Utilities and Regulations Authority (RURA) announced that effective August 15, no commercial motorcyclists operating in Kigali will be allowed on roads without subscribing to using metres and compulsory cashless payment services.
The new moto electronic transport system was announced during the press briefing, which brought together City of Kigali, RURA and RNP.
The GPS-enabled tool calculates distance and electronically generates the transport fare instantly.
RURA Director General, Patrick Nyirishema said that the deadline was well thought about including facilitating the motorcyclists to access the metres by the set deadline.
“We have taken two years to prepare this and to transform the moto transport system; we had meetings with the motorcyclists on this issue, and we hope by that date, all taxi-moto operators will be set for the new and efficient electronic services,” Nyirishema said.
With metres, passengers have options of paying using Mobile Money, Airtel Money or Tap & Go.
Currently, there are over 46,000 registered commercial motorcyclists across the country, with about 26,000 operating in Kigali.
According to RURA, about 19,500 motorcyclists in Kigali have so far acquired metres. Nyirishema said that the mandatory electronic system for motorcyclists started in Kigali and will be decentralized to other parts of the country soon.
He said that the metres are friendly in terms of fares. For the first 2kms, a passenger pays only Rwf300 and Rwf133 for any additional kilometres.
In case a passenger makes a stoppage along the route, he or she will have free 10 minutes after which Rwf21 will be charged per minute.
Nyirishema said that there are enough metres for all motorcyclists.Three firms were authorised to provide the metres. These are Yego Moto, Pascal and Tap&Go.
A metre can only be used for two years, after which a new one alongside a smartphone will be given to a motorcyclist.
On the issue of the metre being expensive, Nyirishema disclosed that there will be no upfront payment as it will be paid in the course of two years.
He cleared the air that there will be no extra charges for clients using telecom payment services.
City Mayor, Pudence Rubingisa said that use of metres and shifting to cashless payment is in line with the ‘Smart City’ programme and part of the efforts to prevent further spread of novel Coronavirus.
“We are building a clean city that embraces e-services across all sectors including transport to ensure efficiency and service delivery,” Mayor Rubingisa said.
The mayor appealed to clients to also play their part by adopting the electronic payment system and to use motos with metres to prevent being cheated.
RNP spokesperson, CP John Bosco Kabera said that the force is always ready to enforce any instructions.
“This will help the Police in relation to security matters; in case of conflict between the motorcyclist and client and also when a motorcycle or its rider has been implicated in any unlawful acts,” CP Kabera said.
He added: “This is for the benefit of the motorcyclist, client and the country in general; we don’t wish to see any motorcyclist on the road on August 15, without a metre because on that very day, the Police will carry out its enforcement duties.”
He said that RNP will continue to work with City of Kigali, RURA and the federation of motorcycle cooperatives to ensure that the directives are adhered to.
