A ride in Kenya's first electric matatu

At the Ambassadeur Bus stage in Nairobi’s CBD, the Citi Hoppa electric bus is the most conspicuous.

The rectangular bus has large, easy sliding windows that extend from one end to the other. The automatic door folds inwards opening up a simple staircase into the bus.

BasiGo, a Kenyan electric vehicle start-up, launched two electric buses in Kenya operated by the Citi Hoppa and East Shuttle Matatu Companies.

The two buses ply Stadium-Dandora through Buruburu routes and the second covers Allsops-JKIA-CBD.

The 25-seater bus is fully automatic, with the driver’s booth fitted with three buttons to control the bus.

Above the dashboard, a plaque inscribed free WiFi and login details hang besides a CCTV camera, facing the passenger seats.

The bus is nearly full but passengers flock the vehicle hoping to get a seat in the prototype electric matatu in the country.

The last passenger grins as the conductor signals her to take the only seat left.

She sits next to me and quickly starts a conversation on how she had tried to catch the bus, but missed it every time for the past two weeks since its launch.

“It passed by Fedha stage, in Embakasi, where I stay at around a quarter to 11am. It is always full or there are many passengers scrambling to get a seat. I have missed it every time until today,” she said.

Everlyne Musangi, as she later introduced herself, said she wanted to get a feel of the ride in an electric bus and enjoy the comfort of the posh look, just like me. 

Though she was prepared to pay a little more than the usual fare, Musangi was happy that she was charged Sh50, the normal rates for other matatus that mostly use diesel.

Unlike the regular matatus where silence or very loud music reigns, there is a sense of togetherness in the bus. Since the electric matatu is a first of its kind in Kenya, people had a common topic to spur a conversation.

The bus moved fast down Jogoo road, once in a while, getting stuck in traffic jam caused by long queues into petrol stations.

However, for the electric bus operators, there is nothing to worry about. For them, it was business as usual.

“We cannot tell if we are getting more customers now because of the fact that because this bus is very popular. People are always scrambling to get space whenever we stop,” Franklin Makokha, the bus conductor, said.

BasiGo product marketer Doreen Orishaba said other than the posh look, the bus is very quiet which allows the riders to ‘relax’ when taking trips.

“I almost got a heart attack when I bordered the Kenyan matatus the first time. The conductor and passengers were banging on the body of the bus to get it to stop, and it was so loud and the air chocking,” she said. 

“These electric buses are fitted with a button that you press to alert the driver to stop.

"The air is clean as air circulates freely through the windows and there is no gas emission that pollute the environment like the regular matatus.”

The electric bus can cover at least 250km after it is fully charged. Recharging to capacity takes not more than four hours.  

“We recharge the two buses at our charging depot at night so that by 5am in the morning, they are ready to start the daily trips,” Orishaba said.

BasiGo introduced the Sh5 million passenger electric bus two weeks ago in anticipation of increased demand for environment-friendly transport.

Buyers will also be subjected to a daily subscription fee of Sh20 per kilometre to cover the cost of leasing the battery, nightly charging at a BasiGo depot, as well as service and maintenance for the buses.

The buses are locally assembled using parts from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD Automotive.

According to company officials, BasiGo’s offering will be expanded by the second half of 2022 with the addition of another 100 electric buses as part of the 1,000 start-up plans.

Kenya Power acting CEO Rosemary Oduor said the company has the capacity to supply the electricity needed to charge electric vehicles and motorcycles during off-peak hours.

She said the emerging clean transport industry is an opportunity for it to grow sales.

“For Kenya Power, the e-mobility evolution provides us with an inorganic opportunity to grow sales,” she said Wednesday during the launch of electric vehicle start-up BasiGo’s Sh5 million bus.

(edited by Amol Awuor)