Moses Lugalia has joined Kenya’s budding electric vehicle revolution – by exchanging the noisy roar of his petrol motorbike for the gentle hum of an electric one.
The biggest incentive to go electric for the 27-year-old rider of a motorbike taxi – known locally as a “boda-boda” – was the promise of saving money at a time when fuel prices keep rising.
Motorbike taxis are everywhere in Kenya, as in many African countries, because they are cheaper than cars, and can be better for navigating the notorious traffic jams in the capital, Nairobi.
Mr Lugalia has been in the motorbike taxi business for five years, transporting people and goods around Nairobi.
He would spend about 1,000 Kenyan shillings a day – just over $6 (£5) – on fuel when he used a petrol bike.Nairobi drivers earn on average about $10-15 a day, according to the country’s Boda-Boda Association.
Since going electric, Mr Lugalia says he spends no more than $1.42 a day – so his profits are now up and that makes him very happy.
“Because of the cost of petrol, I am able to save a lot more using my electric bike,” says Mr Lugalia with a smile.Instead of filling up with petrol, Mr Lugalia now swaps the bike’s electric battery once, sometimes twice, a day at one of the growing number of swap stations in Nairobi.
A fully charged battery will allow him to drive for about 80km (50 miles), almost a whole day’s work.
“Electric is the future in Kenya,” Mr Lugalia tells the BBC.
The Kenyan government thinks so too. President William Ruto launched a national “e-mobility” programme on 1 September 2023.
Motorbikes and three-wheeled tuk-tuks, or auto rickshaws, are the centrepiece of a move to make transport green and reduce air pollution.
The government hopes the prospect of cheaper running costs will create a gearshift in the minds of other drivers of the ubiquitous boda-bodas, most of whom still use petrol or diesel.
There are about three million boda-boda riders in Kenya, according to the transport minister, and the UN estimates some five million people benefit from their incomes.
Taking a boda-boda is a convenient, fast and cheap way to get around.
But many of the motorcycles are old, poorly maintained and big polluters. Although they produce less carbon dioxide than cars, they release more nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons – which affect air quality and the climate.
Nairobi is one of the world’s most heavily congested cities. Its population swells from about 4.5 million to more than six million people during rush-hours.
The daily gridlock can be a choking nightmare for commuters – transport accounts for about 40% of Nairobi’s air pollution, and globally for about 20% of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Clean Air Fund.
Other major climate change culprits are deforestation, agriculture, manufacturing, and the open burning of waste.
Africa contributes only 2% to 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, but it suffers disproportionately from climate change, according to the UN Environment Programme.
Nevertheless, Kenya’s government sees a shift to green transport as vital to help meet its climate goals. It wants more than 200,000 electric bikes on the road by the end of 2024.
On average e-bikes emit 75% less total greenhouse gases.
So far only about 2,000 boda-boda drivers have switched from petrol to electric.
