President William Ruto says electric motorcycles will make Kenyan roads safer as he launched the bikes in Mombasa on Friday.
Speaking during the launch of electric motorcycles at Mama Ngina Waterfront Park, Ruto said the speed of the electric motorcycles will be controlled from somewhere else to avoid over speeding thus help reduce road accidents.
"It cannot overspeed because the speed can be controlled from somewhere else. Even if you have a reckless rider, they will not have the luxury to ride this mode of a vehicle at a speed that is dangerous and makes the whole enterprise a big expense on our health," he said.
He added that electric motorcycles cannot be stolen since they can be traced and immobilised.
"The E-mobility sector that we have now brought in place is that these motorcycles will have traceability. If somebody tries to steal, it can be switched off," he said.
The President acknowledged that motorcycles have been a menace on the roads for being involved in avoidable accidents and claiming lives.
"We all know that one of the biggest drawbacks of our boda boda sector is that there are so many accidents. Many people try to criminalise this boda boda sector that there was a problem."
The motorcycles, which will retail at Sh150,000, have been manufactured by Spiro, an electric motorcycle manufacturer with a presence in Togo, Benin, Rwanda and now Kenya.
According to Spiro, the e-boda bodas are only charged once at night.
The riders will also be allowed to swap their depleted batteries for fully charged ones at Spiro’s electric bike battery swapping centres.
According to the Kenya Kwanza government, the initiative aims to accelerate e-mobility adoption, empower youth and lower the operational cost in the boda boda industry.
Boda boda operators have been complaining of the ever-increasing cost of fuel.
According to the State, these new motorcycles will cushion the boda boda industry from high fuel prices.
