Rwanda Utility Regulation Authority (RURA) is still looking for a private contractor to handle public transport after operators who submitted bids failed to meet the revised requirements.

Some of the city transport operators told Rwanda Today that the notification from the regulator indicated none had met revised requirements as the government strives for improve public transport in response to user concerns.

“We have got a notification from the regulator showing that we didn’t meet the requirements, as the bidders for the Zone one,” Victor Rudasingwa, the managing director of Kigali Bus Services Limited (KBS) told Rwanda Today.

During the last five-year contract that expired on 31st of the last month, public transport in the city of Kigali was shared among the three operators including KBS, which has been serving zone I, Royal Express Ltd aplying Zone II and Rwanda Federation of Transport Cooperatives covering zone III.

Under Generation 2 of city transport, which is to run 2020 to 2025, RURA urged the aspiring city transporters to make significant investments, mainly in acquiring buses as the new system will feature advanced route planning, better vehicle mix, and stricter schedules of service among the reforms.

 “We have positioned ourselves in accordance with the requirements by acquiring new and bigger fleets but it did not work out,” Rudasingwa added.

Majority of the city transporters use 25-32-seater buses, under which should be phased out and upgrade to modern fleets based on the new rules.

Mr Rudasingwa says the Kigali Bus Services, has acquired Rwf800 million worth of new buses to match the new requirements.

RURA offers the city transport tenders in partnership with Rwanda Transport Development Agency, the city of Kigali and the Ministry of Infrastructure, but transporters feel that it should relinquish the tendering power to the city of Kigali and remain a regulatory agency.