Transportation

The other day, our group did a scavenger hunt around Kigali as a way of helping us get to know the city and how to get around it. Aside from taking the taxis, none of us had really had any experience with transportation around the city. The whole exercise was very good as it forced us to ask for directions and deal with the language barrier (I found that using my French was much faster than trying to stumble through our questions in English).

There are three main modes of transportation in Kigali, the most expensive and most convenient being a taxi. It typically costs about 2000-3000 rwf (Rwandan francs) which is about $4-6, but you can take 4 people and the driver will know exactly where you need to go.

The second kind of transportation is the moto which varies in prices around $1. Like taking a taxi, you have to haggle a little to get a lower price. Once we have mastered haggling over they prices in Kinyarwanda rather than French or English, we should be able to get cheaper rates as the drivers won’t take advantage of us for being “muzungus”. Since my only experience on two-wheeled vehicles is a bicycle, my first moto experience felt like Mario Cart Live. As soon as the price is negotiated, you are handed a helmet, which is always too big and has multiple cracks and probably a large chuck of visor missing. You swing your leg over the side, being careful not to burn your leg on the muffler. Now that you are cozily situated on the seat behind the driver, you grab either him, or the handle behind you and hold on for dear life. Some drivers’ speeds boarder on recklessness, in which case you have to tell them to slow down (something we learned to do in Kinyarwanda: pole, pole). Others putter along at a moderate pace allowing you to enjoy the scenery. Usually they stop the moto by slowing down at the last possible second and spinning the tail end of the moto around to land you right at the curb. You hop off, remove and return the helmet and pay the agreed upon fee. The whole thing is very exhilarating.

The third kind of transportation is the bus. As far as we can tell, there is no visible way of determining where a bus is going, the only way to do it is to ask. About 2/3 of the buses are plain white and yellow, but the other 1/3 have names like: “T-pain,” “Kayne West,” and “G-Star.” I recently rode on “T-pain” which is painted in orange and purple tiger stripes and had a bedazzled interior. Its costs 120rwf to ride and they cram 16 people in each bus at a time. While the Rwandans may be more modest in dress than westerners, they have no qualms about physical contact with strangers. If the bus is full, you won’t be able to move and might just find someone in your lap. The bus system is quite organized and everyone knows when to move over, when to get out, when to pay, and what bus to take. There are two workers on each bus, the driver and then another who stands by the door and collects money and makes change as people get off, or before the end of the main hub. He jumps in and out of the car, whizzing the door open or shut while the van is in motion. It is all very efficient and smelly (deodorant is not used liberally here.)

The traffic here is fairly slow-paced and the streets are not crowded. The preferred mode of transportation is walking, although the quality of the gas fumes makes up for the quantity of autos on the road. We have been advised that the transportation here is all very safe and now know how to use it all, so we feel much more at home. To add to this feeling, I have learned enough Kinyarwanda to have a 2 minute greeting with a local. One thing about Rwandans is that they rarely just say a passing hello, their greeting is to ask how you are and listen to your response. Those I have spoken with in Kinyarwanda light up immediately when they hear you attempting their language.