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Cycling Cities on the Move – Kigali, Rwanda
March 31, 2021 - Kigali, the hilly capital of Rwanda, is considered one of Africa’s leaders in bicycle innovation. The city is the starting point for the Tour du Rwanda, an almost 900km long race that is the biggest race on the continent and one of only two African cycling events under the International Cycling Union.
Although the 2021 edition has been postponed due to the pandemic, the 2020 race took place and attracted teams from France, the USA, South Africa, Angola, Germany, Kazakhstan, Israel and Rwanda.
Building on the success of the Tour du Rwanda, the Rwanda Cycling Federation launched a cycling tourism initiative with the goal of doubling tourism revenues to $800 million by 2024.
Several graduates-turned-entrepreneurs are hoping to help meet that cycling tourism goal with their Citybuddiz program. Recently launched, Citybuddiz offers specialized mountain biking tours of various lengths for families, groups and solo riders.
Visitors and residents alike can also explore Kigali on solar-powered e-bikes and e-scooters that are part of the GuraRide system. Launched in 2017, GuraRide is a bike share company based in Rwanda, one of a small number of micromobility companies operating across the continent.
With 52% of Kigali residents commuting via non-motorized transportation, the City of Kigali is currently working on making it safer to ride a bike.
Established in 2016, Kigali hosts a bi-monthly Car Free Day on the first and third Sundays of each month. Designated streets are cleared of motor vehicles from 7 to 11am, and the event attracts about a thousand people who bike, walk and run.
Cancelled for six months during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Car Free Day event was re-launched in September 2020. To further encourage cycling on a regular basis, the City of Kigali has also committed to build more bike lanes in the downtown core as part of the new 2050 Master Plan.
Local shop owners have reported strong bike sales during the COVID-19 lockdown, and they credit Rwanda’s 25% tax waiver on the importation of bikes for the recent increase in cycling and cycling tourism.
