Uganda Turning To Electric Buses For Public Transport

Posted by: Kyeyune Andrew Jonathan in Uganda news October 6, 2022

Monica Musenero, the Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation has revealed government’s move to invest massively in electric buses as a transport means.

She said the main focus is on vehicles and motorbikes to help reduce on emissions.

“We have come up with a plan and an inter-ministerial taskforce that is working on roadmap to make the entire country be on e-mobility. We have started with the issue of addressing mass transport not only to address pollution but also traffic congestion,” Musenero said.

Museveni on Wednesday launched this year’s national exhibition for science week to showcase Uganda’s advancement in science, technology and innovation.

The government is doing all it can to address the issue of traffic congestion and emissions. To automate this, it started with public transportation.

The public transport sector is already using electric vehicles like the Kiira EV buses that can run 300km before they can recharge. Five of these buses have already been sold to Tondeka Bus Transport Company Ltd. They are ferrying passengers around the city currently.

Musenero said plans are in high gear to have more of these used all over the country to provide public transport. She stressed the fact that all these will be manufactured locally.

“Many say Uganda is simply assembling but this is not true. We are manufacturing and assembly is just a small component of the process and it is essential.”

Musenero further revealed that the government is partnering with private companies to provide electric motorcycles. These will also fill in for the bodabodas in the city.

She said the bikes are 60% cheaper to operate than the current ones since they don’t use fuel. They apparently have fewer serviceable parts which increases the income of the operator.

On the part of charging stations, Minister Musenero said the government is working with these private companies to install charging stations all over the country.

Additionally, they are trying to develop personal chargers so that the owner can charge the motorbike from home.

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