Drivers of public transport vehicles plying upcountry routes are citing exhaustion as a major reason for accidents.

This even as regular mechanical checks and installation of speed governors are highlighted as having improved not only quality of buses used for public transport but also road safety.

This comes at the time Rwanda National Police has intensified awareness about road safety under the “Gerayo Amahoro” (arrive safely) campaign.

Under the M system, drivers count number of tours they make per day. For example, for Rubavu district, a journey of about three and half hours from Kigali, as per speed-governors that limits speed below 60km/h, drivers are expected to complete two tours or four trips, from Kigali and back. Drivers could spent about 14 hours behind the wheel in ine day.

“There is a constant feeling of tiredness because of long hours of working.

During busy periods [notably when students are going or coming from school] there is a lot of pressure,” a driver told Rwanda Today on condition of anonymity.

However, shortage of buses means that drivers ply the same route for many hours.

Rwanda Today has learnt that drivers do not have enough time to rest after a long trip.

“When you arrive, there are passengers waiting... you have to take to the road again,” a driver at Nyabugogo bus station said.

Some drivers resort to risky practices such as taking energy drinks or even alcohol to keep alert. This is common on longer journeys like the seven-hour Rusizi-route, a trip mostly conducted during nights when there is less traffic police surveillance.

However, Rene Claude Manzi, Operating Manager at Association des Transporteurs des Personnes au Rwanda, the umbrella organisation of transport companies, dismissed the claims of poor working conditions, saying the company is yet to receive formal complaints from the drivers.