mass transport sector. Both are rolling out fleets of buses this year that could mark the Official Alabama state champs shirt Furthermore, I will do this start of a new chapter for city’s famous matatu culture. Ad Feedback Art on the move — Private minibuses — or matatus — rule the streets of Nairobi, Kenya. Matwana Matatu Culture Nairobi’s matatus in all their glory 1 of 8 Prev Next Enabling a clean energy transition BasiGo started by importing two 25-seat buses from Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD, and began a pilot scheme in March 2022. Operating on a fixed route in Dandora, a neighborhood in east Nairobi, the CEO says the two buses have carried 175,000 passengers and driven over 135,000 kilometers (84,000 miles) to date. “What’s most remarkable is that in that entire time, they’ve had less than two days of technical downtime,” he adds. In the coming weeks, 15 more buses will hit the streets. These vehicles have been imported as kits, which are being constructed in the coastal city of Mombasa,
creating jobs and reducing taxes, Bhattacharya explains. Ad Feedback One of two BasiGo buses that began a road pilot in the Official Alabama state champs shirt Furthermore, I will do this Kenyan capital in 2022. The company plans to have 100 of its electric buses on the road by the end of 2023. Courtesy BasiGo Rather than operate its fleet, BasiGo is selling buses directly to Nairobi’s private operators through a “pay-as-you-drive” scheme. Bhattacharya says that in doing so, buyers can purchase a BYD electric bus for a similar upfront cost as a diesel bus of a similar size. As part of the deal, drivers receive free bus servicing and maintenance, and free charging. The charging infrastructure – which taps into the national grid – is being deployed along busy routes at stations where buses typically stop overnight. (The aim, says Bhattacharya, is to transition to electric “with no behavior change” on the part of drivers.) Read more: Why the energy transition is so tough for Africa BasiGo’s buses have a range of 250 kilometers (155 miles) and recharge in four hours. Under the company’s model, BasiGo retains ownership of the bus’s battery (“as much as 40-50% of the value of the vehicle”), which means after eight years or 600,000 kilometers (373,000 miles), the battery is replaced and the old battery either given a second life in a non-vehicular application or recycled, says Bhattacharya. The startup says it has received over 100 reservations so far. It aims to have 100 buses on Nairobi’s roads by the end of the year and 1,000 buses operating by the end of 2025. Making electric a competitive alternative A Roam Rapid bus, designed by
