Kigali’s ambition to extend public transport utilization from 20 per cent to 50 per cent over the following decade will rely much less on increasing bus routes and extra on making public transport dependable, environment friendly and enticing sufficient to develop into the popular selection for commuters.
That’s in accordance with Aubin Rukera, Chief Government Officer of Ecofleet Options, the state-owned firm main Kigali’s public transport reforms.
“Earlier than the reforms, public transport accounted for round 10 per cent of day by day journey in Kigali. At the moment, Ecofleet estimates the determine has doubled to about 20 per cent,” he stated.
“The long-term goal is to boost that to 30 per cent within the medium time period and finally 50 per cent,” he added.
To realize this, Kigali is specializing in three main pillars: reliability, know-how and price effectivity.
The primary precedence is enhancing reliability. Below the brand new transport mannequin launched in December 2025, the federal government shifted from an operator-driven system to a commuter-focused method.
As an alternative of operators deploying buses primarily for revenue, Ecofleet now manages fleet deployment, route efficiency and repair requirements.
The federal government has already bought 190 buses, with Kigali’s complete working fleet now standing at almost 340 buses. The purpose is to make sure commuters expertise extra predictable service, shorter ready occasions and cleaner, better-managed buses.
Reliability can be tied carefully to know-how. Ecofleet is creating an built-in digital system that may enable real-time monitoring of bus operations and supply commuters with dwell data on bus schedules and arrival occasions.
“As soon as absolutely rolled out, commuters will be capable of entry schedules via cell functions and digital platforms, serving to them plan journeys extra effectively,” he famous.
One other main technique is decreasing working prices to make the system financially sustainable. Gas prices stay a big problem since most buses nonetheless run on diesel.
Ecofleet sees electrical buses as a long-term resolution to chop operational prices and unencumber assets for reinvestment in buses, depots and terminals.
Kigali can be betting on devoted bus lanes to scale back congestion and enhance journey occasions, making public transport extra aggressive towards non-public vehicles.
Nevertheless, altering commuter behaviour stays one of many greatest challenges. Ecofleet says park-and-ride amenities have seen restricted uptake, suggesting extra incentives could also be wanted to encourage automobile homeowners to modify to buses.
Bettering driver professionalism and customer support is one other essential space, as drivers stay central to commuter expertise.
