Транспортная система Руанды: дороги, автобусы и перспективы смены движения

The transport system in Rwanda centres primarily around the road network. Paved roads lie between the capital, Kigali, and most other major cities and towns in the country. Rwanda is also linked by road with other countries in the African Great Lakes, via which the majority of the country's imports and exports are made. The country has an international airport at Kigali, serving one domestic and several international destinations, and also has limited transport between the port cities on Lake Kivu. There are currently no railways 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.

Rwanda has a total of of roads, of which are paved. 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. Vehicles in the country drive on the right hand side of the road. 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. It is significantly cheaper to import vehicles designed to drive on the left than on the right, possibly due to the second hand market from India and Japan being cheaper than that of Europe, so more of these cars were imported until the government banned their import in 2005 due to safety concerns. Due to the difference in car price, and the potential to better economically integrate with other EAC and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa countries, the government has considered switching the country to driving on the left.

The main form of public transport within Rwanda is the express bus, which has superseded the share taxi on the main routes.

These run to a set timetable (usually each 30 minutes) between major towns, only stopping at official stops near the destination(s). Even if alighting earlier, the price to the next major stop has to be paid. Almost all routes pass through Nyabugogo in Kigali. The buses are run by private companies and issue tickets in advance with a price set by the government. As tickets are paid and printed at the offices (major stops) or by an employee along the road (smaller stops), there is no need for a conductor to collect the money in the bus. 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). In contrast to the Share Taxi, this form of transport respects the schedule rather than waiting to be full. Also, they are almost never overfilled and rather depart earlier. The size ranges from Toyota Coaster to big coaches. Most coaches are run by Ritco, on which the government holds a share. It is also the only company to have stops all across the country, while its private competitors are limited to specific regions. When it was founded it replaced Onatracom, another public company.

As of 2018, share taxis are still the main form of transport in remote areas, while express buses are used wherever available. This is due to the almost equal price and increased comfort and speed of the express buses.

The country's main aviation hub is Kigali International Airport, which is located at Kanombe, a suburb approximately from Kigali city centre. The airport has international flights to: Lagos, Brazzaville, Dubai, Nairobi, Entebbe, Addis Ababa, Bujumbura, Johannesburg, Amsterdam, Brussels and Doha and is the main airport for the national carrier RwandAir. There are plans being discussed to build a new airport at Nyamata in Bugesera district, approximately from Kigali which would be larger and could act as a hub for the entire region. The only other airport in the country with passenger service is Kamembe Airport, which is in the city of Cyangugu. RwandAir operates a service between Kigali and Kamembe, which serves southwestern Rwanda and the Congolese city of Bukavu.

This is by far the largest of Rwanda's lakes, forming the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 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. There are also boats used to ferry people to some of the islands in the lake, but these also do not run regularly. Local fishermen operate along the entirety of the lakeshore, usually in dug out canoes or other hand crafted boats. The Rwandan navy operates a few boats on the lake to protect the country against infiltrators from the Congolese side.

Transport on Rwanda's other major lakes is mostly limited to ferries, usually local boats similar to those used to fishing, which transport people from one side to the other. Some lakes have resort bars and hotels, such as Jambo Beach on Lake Muhazi, which can offer a pleasure cruise to their customers in their own speed boat. Local fishermen operate on most lakes.

There are currently no railways in Rwanda.