Transport in Rwanda

A large amount of investments in the transport infrastructure has been made by the government since the 1994 genocide, with aid from the European Union, China, Japan and others.

[1] The remainder are dirt roads with quality varying from smooth hard surfaces with drainage to rutted, extremely uneven tracks passable only with a four-wheel drive vehicle.

However, the three largest members of the East African Community (EAC) to which Rwanda is a part of, including neighbouring Tanzania and Uganda, drive on the left.

A recent government programme of upgrading and resurfacing means that most major routes are now in good condition.

The principal routes are (refer to map for number references): There is also one road that is currently a quite poor-quality dirt road, but it may soon be upgraded to paved status: There are several daily coach services from Rwanda to destinations in the African Great Lakes: In addition the national express share taxi services (see below) to Gisenyi and Cyangugu often cross the DRC border to carry passengers to Goma and Bukavu respectively.

The buses are run by private companies and issue tickets in advance with a price set by the government.

Tickets can be issued in advance, so they might be sold out quickly at busy times (especially Fridays, Sundays and at the beginning/end of school holidays).

Public transport in Kigali takes the form of the stopping share taxis mentioned above, but running much more frequently due to greater demand.

While the national ones are typically unmarked, Kigali taxis have a yellow stripe running round the vehicle, on which is imprinted the start and end points of its route.

There are plans being discussed to build a new airport at Nyamata in Bugesera district, approximately 40 km (25 mi) from Kigali which would be larger and could act as a hub for the entire region.

RwandAir operates a service between Kigali and Kamembe, which serves southwestern Rwanda and the Congolese city of Bukavu.

There are occasional boat services between the major ports of Cyangugu, Kibuye and Gisenyi but these do not run to a regular timetable and often have to be chartered.