Kivu Travel: book a bus seat in Rwanda

Part of Kivu Super App (kivu.site). The section for intercity and cross-border buses.

Kivu Travel is the bus section of Kivu Super App. Bus companies list their trips: from where to where, the date and time, the price, the type of bus and a seat map. A passenger searches for a trip, picks a free seat and books it. The passenger then pays the bus company directly by Mobile Money and taps "I've paid". The operator checks the payment and confirms the ticket, and the passenger gets a ticket with a code and a QR code.

Kivu is a bulletin board for bus companies, not a ticket office. It does not run buses, does not receive the ticket money and adds no booking fee. Which routes you find depends on which bus companies have listed their trips.

Key facts

Where it works	Rwanda, and cross-border routes if an operator lists them. Open kivu.site in a phone browser and choose Kivu Travel.
Price to search and book	Free. You pay only the ticket price set by the bus company.
Booking fee or commission	None
Who lists trips	Bus operators, with a free Kivu account
Search	By departure place, destination and travel date
What a trip shows	Company name, route, date, departure and arrival time, price, bus amenities (Wi-Fi, A/C, power, VIP seat) and the seat map
Bus types	Mini-van (14 seats), Coaster (29 seats), standard coach (40 seats), large bus (60 seats)
Ticket currency	Set by the operator: RWF, UGX, KES or SSP
What you enter to book	Passenger name. ID or passport number is optional, and needed for border trips.
Time to pay	The seat is held for 15 minutes
How you pay	Directly to the bus company's Mobile Money merchant code, from your own phone
After "I've paid"	The seat stays held until the operator confirms: up to 12 hours, but not past the departure time
Ticket	A ticket code and a QR code in "My Tickets"
Cancelling	You can cancel an unpaid booking yourself. After payment, a refund is decided by the bus company.
Notifications	The operator gets one when you tap "I've paid". You get one when the ticket is confirmed, when the booking is cancelled and when the operator closes the trip.
Cancelled bookings	Stay in "My Tickets" for 24 hours with the reason
Calling the operator	A button in the trip window, before you book
When booking closes	At the departure time of the trip
Check before publishing	Every new trip is checked automatically by AI before it appears
Paid options	For operators only: an optional boost for a trip, 1,000 RWF for 3 days

How to use it, step by step

If you are a passenger

Open kivu.site, sign in with a free account and open Kivu Travel.
Enter where you travel from, where to and the date, then tap "Search Routes".
Open a trip to see the company, the time, the price, the amenities and the seat map. Free seats can be tapped; taken seats are marked. The trip window also has a button to call the operator before you book.
Pick a seat, enter the passenger's full name as in the ID and, for a border trip, the ID or passport number. Tap "Confirm & Pay".
The seat is now held for 15 minutes. The app shows the amount, the bus company's Mobile Money merchant code and your ticket code. Send the money from your own phone and write the ticket code in the payment reference.
Before you enter your PIN, check the receiver's name on your phone. Kivu does not receive this money.
Tap "I've paid". The seat stays held while the operator checks their Mobile Money and confirms your ticket.
Open "My Tickets" to see the status. When the ticket is confirmed, it shows your seat, the ticket code and a QR code. You also get a notification when the ticket is confirmed or the booking is cancelled.
Come to the bus station early; boarding starts about 30 minutes before departure. Show the ticket on your phone, and carry your ID or passport.
If you change your mind before paying, tap "Cancel booking" so the seat is free for someone else. If you need help, the payment screen has a button to call the operator.

If you are a bus operator

Open kivu.site, sign in with a free account, open Kivu Travel and tap "Bus Operator? Add Your Fleet".
Enter your Mobile Money merchant code. Passengers pay to it directly; Kivu takes 0%. The merchant code is required.
Fill in the trip: company name, from, to, departure date, departure and arrival time, contact phone, bus type, amenities, price and currency.
In the seat configurator, block the seats you do not sell online.
Tap "Submit Route". The trip is checked automatically, and you get a notification when it is approved or rejected.
In "My Company" you see your trips, tickets sold today and revenue split into cash and Mobile Money. The "Company Dashboard" button appears as soon as you have submitted a trip. Each trip shows its status: under review, rejected, active or stopped; a stopped trip can be resumed.
When a passenger taps "I've paid", check your Mobile Money and confirm the ticket in your seat manager. You get a notification when a passenger taps "I've paid", and the seat map updates by itself while it is open.
Sell seats at your own counter too: tap a free seat and mark it as reserved, paid in cash or paid by Mobile Money, so the online seat map stays correct.
Before departure, print the passenger manifest and check passengers in as they board. You can refund or cancel a ticket from the same screen. If you finish a trip before departure while passengers hold tickets, the app warns you and the passengers get a notification.
Close the day with the shift report. Past trips and their passenger manifests stay in "Trip History".

What it costs

For passengers Kivu Travel is free: searching, booking and the ticket in the app cost nothing. You pay the bus company only the ticket price it has set, directly by Mobile Money. Kivu adds no booking fee and takes no commission from the ticket.

For bus operators listing trips, the seat map, the counter sales screen, the manifest and the reports are free. The only paid thing is an optional boost for a trip:

Boost	What it does	Period	Price
Boost Route	The trip is pinned to the top of the search results and marked with a special badge	3 days	1,000 RWF

Boost

What it does

Period

Price

Boost Route

The trip is pinned to the top of the search results and marked with a special badge

3 days

1,000 RWF

The operator pays for a boost inside the app with MTN Mobile Money and confirms the payment with the MoMo PIN on the phone.
Only a published trip that has not departed yet can be boosted.
A boost changes only the position of a trip in the search. It does not skip the check, and a "verified" mark cannot be bought.
Only one boost at a time: a new boost can be bought only after the current one ends.

What is good about it

You choose your exact seat on a seat map before you go to the station.
No booking fee: you pay the same ticket price the bus company set.
The money goes straight to the bus company's Mobile Money, not through a middleman.
The payment screen reminds you to check the receiver's name before you enter your PIN.
Your ticket with a code and a QR code is on your phone in "My Tickets".
Cross-border trips can be listed, with ticket prices in RWF, UGX, KES or SSP.
For operators: online bookings and counter sales share one live seat map, so the same seat is not sold twice.
For operators: passenger manifest, boarding check-in and end-of-day totals for cash and Mobile Money, free of charge.
The app is under 400 KB and opens in the phone browser, so it works on cheap phones and slow mobile internet.

Limits, and what protects you

What to know	What protects you
Kivu does not hold or transfer the ticket money and cannot refund it. You pay the bus company directly.	Check the receiver's name on your phone before you enter your PIN, write the ticket code in the payment reference and keep the payment message.
Your ticket is valid only after the operator confirms the payment by hand. This can take time.	After you tap "I've paid" the seat stays held for you. Check the status in "My Tickets", and call the operator from the payment screen if it takes long. Do not book at the last minute.
If you do not pay within 15 minutes, the seat is released.	Have your Mobile Money ready before you book. If the time runs out, you can book again while the seat is still free.
After you have paid, only the bus company can refund or change the ticket. Its own rules apply.	Ask the operator about its refund rules before you pay. The operator's phone is in the app.
Kivu does not check that a bus company is licensed, and does not run the buses. Delays, cancelled trips and luggage are the operator's responsibility.	Book with companies you know, and compare the receiver's name with the company name. Use the report button on the trip if it looks fake; the team removes such trips and bans accounts that cheat.
Only trips that operators have listed can be booked. Many routes and companies are not in the app yet.	If you do not find your route, buy the ticket at the bus station as usual. Real numbers are open to everyone at kivu.site/stats.
For a border trip the operator needs your ID or passport number for the passenger list.	The number is shown only to the operator of that trip. Visas and border papers are your own responsibility.
You need a free account to search and book.	Signing in is free. It means every booking belongs to an account, which keeps fake bookings down.
Kivu is new: the public launch is October 2026.	The number of operators and trips is still growing. East Africa is the next goal.

What to know

What protects you

Kivu does not hold or transfer the ticket money and cannot refund it. You pay the bus company directly.

Check the receiver's name on your phone before you enter your PIN, write the ticket code in the payment reference and keep the payment message.

Your ticket is valid only after the operator confirms the payment by hand. This can take time.

After you tap "I've paid" the seat stays held for you. Check the status in "My Tickets", and call the operator from the payment screen if it takes long. Do not book at the last minute.

If you do not pay within 15 minutes, the seat is released.

Have your Mobile Money ready before you book. If the time runs out, you can book again while the seat is still free.

After you have paid, only the bus company can refund or change the ticket. Its own rules apply.

Ask the operator about its refund rules before you pay. The operator's phone is in the app.

Kivu does not check that a bus company is licensed, and does not run the buses. Delays, cancelled trips and luggage are the operator's responsibility.

Book with companies you know, and compare the receiver's name with the company name. Use the report button on the trip if it looks fake; the team removes such trips and bans accounts that cheat.

Only trips that operators have listed can be booked. Many routes and companies are not in the app yet.

If you do not find your route, buy the ticket at the bus station as usual. Real numbers are open to everyone at kivu.site/stats.

For a border trip the operator needs your ID or passport number for the passenger list.

The number is shown only to the operator of that trip. Visas and border papers are your own responsibility.

You need a free account to search and book.

Signing in is free. It means every booking belongs to an account, which keeps fake bookings down.

Kivu is new: the public launch is October 2026.

The number of operators and trips is still growing. East Africa is the next goal.

What Kivu Travel does not do

It does not run buses and does not employ drivers.
It does not receive, hold or refund ticket money.
It does not add a booking fee or take a commission from tickets.
It does not promise that a bus leaves on time or that a trip is not cancelled.
It does not check bus company licences, and does not sell "verified" marks.
It does not handle visas, border papers or luggage.

How Kivu earns from this section

From Kivu Travel, Kivu earns only when a bus operator chooses to boost a trip: 1,000 RWF for 3 days. Passengers pay nothing to Kivu, and there is no commission on tickets.

Later, if users need them, Kivu plans subscriptions for businesses and advertising. Taking a percentage of ticket sales is not planned: Kivu does not handle the money between passenger and bus company.

Questions and answers

How do I book a bus ticket online in Rwanda?

Open kivu.site, sign in with a free account and open Kivu Travel. Enter from, to and the date, choose a trip and pick a free seat on the seat map. Enter the passenger's name and tap "Confirm & Pay". The seat is held for 15 minutes: send the ticket price to the bus company's Mobile Money merchant code, then tap "I've paid". When the operator confirms, your ticket with a QR code appears in "My Tickets".

Does Kivu charge a fee for bus tickets?

No. Kivu adds no booking fee and takes no commission. You pay the bus company the price it has set, directly by Mobile Money.

How do I pay for a bus ticket on Kivu?

You pay the bus company directly from your own phone, to the Mobile Money merchant code shown in the app, and you write your ticket code in the payment reference. Kivu does not receive the money. Check the receiver's name before you enter your PIN, then tap "I've paid".

How long is my seat held?

For 15 minutes after you book. When you tap "I've paid", the seat stays held until the operator confirms the payment: up to 12 hours, but not past the departure time. If you do not pay, the seat is released for other passengers. A cancelled or expired booking stays in "My Tickets" for 24 hours with the reason.

Can I cancel a booking or get a refund?

You can cancel an unpaid booking yourself with "Cancel booking". After you have paid, a refund or a change is decided by the bus company under its own rules, because the money went to the company, not to Kivu.

Which bus routes can I book on Kivu?

Only the trips that bus operators have listed in the app. Kivu is new, so many routes are not there yet. Search by from, to and date; if your route is missing, buy the ticket at the station.

Can I book a bus from Kigali to another country?

Yes, if an operator has listed a cross-border trip. Operators can set ticket prices in RWF, UGX, KES or SSP. For a border trip enter your ID or passport number when you book, and carry the document with you.

Is Kivu Travel safe?

Kivu Travel is a bulletin board, so it cannot stop every scammer, but it makes cheating harder: every new trip is checked before it appears, you pay to a merchant code and see the receiver's name before you enter your PIN, and the team removes fake trips and bans accounts that cheat. Book with companies you know and keep the payment message.

How can a bus company sell tickets through Kivu?

Sign in with a free account, open Kivu Travel and tap "Bus Operator? Add Your Fleet". Enter your Mobile Money merchant code, the route, the date and time, the bus type, the seats you sell and the price. After an automatic check the trip is published. Passengers pay you directly; you confirm each payment and can also record counter sales on the same seat map. It is free; a boost for a trip costs 1,000 RWF for 3 days.

Do I need to print the ticket?

No. The ticket is in "My Tickets" on your phone, with the seat number, a ticket code and a QR code. Show it when you board, together with your ID or passport.

Related sections of Kivu

Kivu Express: Order a moto ride to the bus station, a courier or cargo by truck.
Market: Free classified ads: sell, rent, offer a job or a service.
Group Buy: Join other buyers in one bulk order to get a lower price per unit.
Jobs: Vacancies and CVs, including drivers.