Ishimwe, who was born in Gikondo, Kicukiro, studied International Business with a specialization in Modern Logistics at WSG University in Poland. He now works for Thales Alenia Space, a Franco-European company specializing in satellite and space technologies.
Together with fellow students Shema Aime Cesar and Ishimwe Byiringiro Etienne, he developed Gerayo App, a mobile application designed to help passengers plan journeys and track Kigali’s bus services.
The idea emerged while the students were observing how technology was being used in Poland’s transport system.
“We are a group of three students who developed the application after observing how the transport system works here. We thought, ‘Couldn’t it be good if we applied technology to improve transportation in Rwanda?’” Ishimwe told IGIHE.
The team used knowledge acquired at university to develop the application and financed its initial online hosting and other costs through their personal savings.
Gerayo allows users to enter their current location and destination and receive information on available buses, routes and expected travel times.
According to Ishimwe, the application uses bus timetables provided by Ecofleet to determine departure intervals, distances and estimated travel times. It also uses Google Maps to estimate how long a passenger may take to walk to a bus stop.
The app can be particularly useful for people unfamiliar with Kigali’s public transport network, allowing them to plan their trips before leaving home.
“If you are walking on foot, the application uses Google Maps to show you how long it may take to reach the bus station,” he said.
The application has been in use for four months and has already attracted about 1,500 users in a week, equivalent to roughly 228 users per day.
Ishimwe said the users are mainly young people, students and other commuters, with a survey showing that people aged between 16 and 32 form the largest user group.
He believes the service can help passengers reduce waiting time and transport costs while making it easier to arrive at their destinations on time.
“I hope many people can take advantage of the app, spend less on transport and reach their destinations on time. It can also help people who may not be able to afford private transport,” he said.
The team is now looking beyond journey planning, with plans to introduce payment and e-ticketing features.
“We first want to integrate a payment system into the application based on feedback from users,” Ishimwe said.
The developers are also considering partnerships with existing payment providers and transport companies to eventually enable passengers to book seats and pay for tickets through the platform.
Ishimwe said collaboration with public institutions and private companies will be important as the project develops. He cited Ecofleet as one of the companies whose publicly accessible transport information can help improve the application.
The team also hopes to eventually expand Gerayo beyond Kigali to other cities across Rwanda.
For Ishimwe, the project was partly inspired by a personal experience. After a relative was involved in a motorcycle accident in 2023, he encouraged the person to use public transport. The experience later contributed to discussions that led to the development of the application in 2024.
Gerayo is currently available on Google Play and the Apple Store.
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