Cleanliness in the PublicTransport Sector

The police is calling on you to practice extra caution when using public transport means and ensure that the vehicle or motorcycle you use observes hygienic conditions. Speaking to Contact Fm on phone, Superitendent Vincent Sano, head of the traffic department at the Rwanda National Police said that his unit was concerned with the level of smartness of the motorcyclists and the taxi bus drivers and was going to crack down on those who fail to observe hygiene. 

  “…that is one of our roles; to control, to supervise and to make sure that they abide by the laws and respect other administrative instructions. So it is the message that we are giving to them and the public that they should observe cleanliness and promote their work...In that way, they will promote the good image of the industry and our nation…” 

We spoke to a cross section of the public-motorcyclists included, on their experience on hygienic conditions … 

“…I travel mostly on mottos. And most of the time you will find these motorcyclists having helmets that are in really bad shape, with really bad odour. However it’s not a general phenomenon.”

“…I am a motorcyclist and even for some of us, it’s really challenging. You see your fellow motorcyclists parking next to you. You look at his clothes-they are really dirty, you look at his helmet and what you see is dirt. But the problem is that there is nothing much you can personally do. The problem is that there is no authority that is really following up on cleanliness in this industry…”

“… ok, the issue of dirt mostly on the motorcycles is a serious one. It is really important for us to observe maximum hygiene so that we can improve our business. You understand that in our day to day work, we meet with many people from different backgrounds…”

“…there is one thing that you are all forgetting. Yes, there is a lot of dirt on our equipments; our clothes and the helmets. But you forget that there are those of us who work the whole day and the whole night and if you work the whole night, by the time it’s morning, you are so sleepy and tired and therefore you don’t even get the time to wash your uniform, or clothes. This really is challenging for some of us...”