A few weeks after Rwandan health officials have warned on the potential risk factors for 2019-novel coronavirus in public transport, moto-taxi drivers have been urged to used available cashless transactions in a bid to prevent the spread of the deadly pandemic, according to an official statement obtained Monday by APA in Kigali.Rwanda Biomedical center (RBC) reminded moto-taxi operators the available ways of cashless payments including Airtel, MTN mobile money or using a newly introduced motorcycle transport payment known as ‘Yego Moto Tap and Pay’ technology.
In a move to curb the risk of COVID-19 contamination, 15,000 motor taxis operating in Kigali will soon be equipped with Yego Moto meters to strengthen the cashless economy and to tackle the problem of changes which was another issue between passengers and motorcycle drivers, according to Rwanda Utility Regulatory Authority (RURA).
The yego moto meter automatically calculates the fare for the trip based on the distance travelled by the passenger, it said.
For passengers who do not have an MTN Mobile Money Tag, Yego Moto drivers will provide them with a Ride-Tap-Pay NFC card for a fixed modest amount.
A passenger can register the NFC tag by tapping the tag on the back of the yego moto meter.
For security, One Trip Pay (OTP) notification will be sent to the passenger’s phone which once entered will allow her/him to start making payments instantly.
The entire registration process takes more or less than 30 seconds and no extra charges shall be incurred as the passenger will only pay the fare which is displayed on the yego moto meter.
The system will also allow people to pay for friends and other people from the countryside without being together using mobile money payment.
As of Sunday, Rwanda reported 22 new cases of COVID-19 to reach a total of 900 confirmed cases since the outbreak of the pandemic in March this year
Altogether, 443 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals while 30 new patients recovered in the past 24 hours, the Health ministry said.
