PRIVATE SECTOR FEDERATION

1. PRIVATE SECTOR FEDERATION Comment on order whose implementation is likely to hamper the good occurrence of business in public transport/ Nov. 2013 Association des transporteurs des Personnes au Rwanda(A.T.P.R) P.O. BOX 3401 Kigali, E-mail : association.atpr@yahoo.com

2. Presidential Order N°25/01 of 09/07/2012 • This Presidential Order was published in Official Gazette nº Special of 27/07/2012 • It is a Presidential Order establishing the list of fees and other charges levied by decentralized entities and determining their thresholds.

3. PART OF THE ORDER TO COMMENT • See Official Gazette nº Special of 27/07/2012 • Presidential Order N°25/01 of 09/07/2012 • CHAPTER III: THRESHOLD OF FEES AND OTHER CHARGES LEVIED • Section One: Fees threshold for occupation of public domain • Article 7: Fees on public parkings (charges related to use of public taxi park = Gare). • Current Status: This article not yet implemented due to a number of problems that may arise from its implementation.

4. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM • i) The Order is formulated in terms that lead to confusion, • ii) The thresholds fixed by this order compromise the profitability of public transport companies using public parkings. • Iii) Lack of coordination between decentralized entities in fixing the charges for using public parkings that cannot affect significantly the cost of transport.

5. i) The thresholds fixed compromise profitability • The thresholds fixed vary between five hundred and ten thousand depending on the size of the vehicle. • take an example of a bus of 60 seats operating in Kigali Town on route Kicukiro Center-Nyabugogo, using two public taxi parks, • In practice this bus will need to use each Public Bus Park at least six times per day.

6. Cont’ • According to this presidential order this bus shall pay between thirty six thousand and one hundred twenty thousand per day for using public taxi park (from RWF 36,000 to RWF 120,000 per day), • While according to the fare applied nowadays, the maximum daily revenue for this bus considering six complete trips per day, is one hundred and eight thousand francs (RWF 108,000 per day). In such conditions the daily parking fee shall exceed the daily revenue per bus.

7. iii) Lack of Coordination Between Entities • Each Council of a concerned decentralized entity is entitled tofix the charges for using public parkings located on territory under its control. • There is no coordination between entities themselves and RURA to fix charges which do not affect significantly the cost of public transport • A public transport operator can use many public parkings per day, all located in different Districts and has to pay charges fixed, while he has no power to recover such charges as the fares for public transport are fixed by RURA.

8. CONLUSION & RECOMMANDATION • There is a need to reformulate the statement of the article seven, and make clear if the vehicle pays daily fee for using public parking, or if it pays fee for entering in public parking. • There is a need to review the thresholds of charges for using public taxi park as the implementation of existing ones may compromise the profitability of public transport operators. • There is a need to establish coordination between entities entitled to fix charges for using public parkings and entity in charge of fixing public transport fares.

9. MURAKOZE! THANK YOU!