Nairobi's buses are renowned for their colorful paint jobs, but they're also big gas-guzzlers. That landscape is starting to change, as local company BasiGo has assembled 35 electric buses and has another 14 on the way.
"Passengers prefer electric vehicles over traditional fossil-fueled ones," bus driver Isaac Kamau told Mongabay. "They rarely need convincing to board. EVs are more comfortable, faster, and operate without noise."
Financing remains an issue. Each BasiGo bus costs more than $200,000, which is three times more than their diesel-fueled counterparts. Luckily, they can be leased for $7,700 upfront, plus a fixed rate per kilometer driven. As with electric cars, charging times and infrastructure are another hurdle. BasiGo has three stations throughout Nairobi, which many drivers need to use during midday for a partial charge.
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Fantastic 😎 Kenya plans to reduce its emissions by 32% by 2030. To that end, it has lowered taxes on EV builders and buyers and made EV charging cheaper. It's great to see this progress, even in a country that contributes relatively little pollution.
EVs are a great way to reduce pollution from day-to-day transportation. Public transit is already efficient, but if municipalities can get over the hump of the initial cost, electric buses save money in the long run. That's good news for taxpayers and other motorists. After all, the more folks take public transit, the fewer cars on the road and the less congestion drivers have to deal with.
Moses Nderitu, BasiGo managing director, sees a bright future for electric buses provided the roadblocks are dealt with.
"We aren't going to see fossil fuel buses disappear overnight," he told Mongabay. "For many operators, fossil fuels represent a tried and tested solution and decades of reliability. But there is growing recognition that the future lies in electric transport. … If the idea behind decarbonizing transport is to combat climate change, then the incentives need to be a bit more aggressive to allow a more rapid growth."
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