Some Super Cool Electric Bus News In March From East & Southern Africa

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There has been a lot of cool electric bus news recently from around the world that you can read here on CleanTechnica. There are some recent exciting developments on the African continent as well. Quite a number of countries on the African continent are supporting the transition to electric buses. In most cases, private firms have been leading the charge.

Rwanda is one of those countries seeing some cool progress in the electrification of public transport. In Rwanda, BasiGo, the leading provider of electric bus solutions in East Africa, recently announced a significant expansion of its operations with the upcoming delivery of 28 new electric buses. The first batch of the buses is already en route and expected to arrive in Kigali next month.

This expanded fleet will serve both city and intercity routes. A lot of action on the African continent has been focusing on intracity routes, so its great to see that some of these buses in Rwanda will be doing intercity routes. BasiGo has committed to deploying one hundred electric buses across the country in 2025, having secured the requisite capital last October. The deployment of one hundred electric buses is expected to reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 3,000 tons annually while creating hundreds of jobs for locals. The company has already received over 360 reservations for electric buses from Rwandan bus operators who seek to either replace their aging diesel buses or expand their fleet. This expansion in Rwanda is in addition to BasiGo’s growth in Kenya where it also has firm orders for over 500 electric buses.

To ensure that things run smoothly from the operational side of things and to support the deployment of these new buses, BasiGo is also expanding its charging infrastructure network in the country. This infrastructure update includes upgrading its Rwandex charging and service depot. The Rwandex depot will feature 1 MW of power capable of reliably charging 25 electric buses nightly. More charging stations will be deployed across the country to support inter-city operations. Through BasiGo’s Pay-As-You-Drive model, the company provides a complete solution that includes charging, service & maintenance, and insurance of the electric bus, along with a 90% uptime guarantee, ensuring that bus operators can easily adopt e-buses into their fleets. Under this Pay-As-You-Drive plan, owners can acquire an e-bus for a minimal upfront cost. Owners then pay an affordable Pay-As-You-Drive fee, which includes all charging and maintenance services provided by BasiGo. Since Pay-As-You-Drive is mileage-based, owners only pay if their electric bus is operating. With Pay-As-You-Drive, owning an electric bus is as Easy as Driving.

“BasiGo is proud to be delivering the largest shipment of electric buses to date into Rwanda,” said Jit Bhattacharya, CEO and cofounder at BasiGo. “Rwanda’s commitment to sustainable transport has created an ideal environment for private sector investment and innovation into E-mobility. With this first major shipment of electric buses, BasiGo is proud to help Rwanda take a major step towards the goal of universal, electrified public transport for the country.”

BasiGo launched its electric bus pilot in Rwanda in December 2023, and it has grown its reservation book to over 360 units and counting. “Over the last 15 months, we have proven the reliability of our electric buses and the value of our model to the Bus Operators. We are confident in our capacity to meet the Rwandan bus market needs,” said Doreen Orishaba, Managing Director of BasiGo Rwanda.

To support this growth in Rwanda, BasiGo has also strengthened its leadership team with the addition of Jones Kizihira as Head of Vehicle Asset Finance. “Jones is an experienced leader in Rwanda’s public transport sector. We are delighted to have his experience and expertise as we rapidly scale,” added Ms. Orishaba. BasiGo says in this new strategic role that Kizihira will lead the development of tailored financing solutions to accelerate the adoption of electric buses by Rwandan bus operators.

I love these programmes that are structured to lower the barriers to adoption of electric buses. For a country such as Rwanda that imports a lot of diesel for transport purposes, accelerating the adoption of mass transit options such as electric buses will go a long way in promoting more sustainable travel and at the same time reduce diesel imports, saving a lot of foreign currency.

We have more good news from Africa, this time from Cape Town, South Africa. Following a series of pilots, starting in 2021 when Golden Arrow Bus Services began evaluating two electric buses, Golden Arrow has now taken delivery of its first 20 electric buses, which will be followed by 100 more buses to be delivered over the course of 2025. The company has also installed 30 charging units, with two dispensers each, the largest of its kind in South Africa. The charging facility will be expanded to 60 chargers with a total of 120 dispensers during the second half of 2025.

“This is a full circle moment for Golden Arrow, in 1896 we were behind the wheel of the first electric tram in South Africa and now, some 129 years later we are first commuter bus company to introduce electric buses into service at scale,” says Golden Arrow Bus Services Chief Executive Officer Francois Meyer.

“Innovation, backed by data and testing, is key to transforming the South African economy. We believe that this is a key moment not only for Golden Arrow but for the local transport industry. This is an opportunity for businesses across the supply chain to diversify their offerings, embrace sustainable transport solutions and create jobs. This is a historic moment for our country that we can all be proud of,” adds Meyer.

This pilot and now wider rollout is critical for the industry, as Cape Town has some famous hills and steep inclines that really put any kind of bus to the extreme limits in terms of capabilities. The successful pilot and rollout of these electric buses has gone a long way in boosting confidence in electric buses in Cape Town. And if electric buses such as the BYD buses Golden Arrow is operating can glide through the challenging Cape Town terrain, they will definitely excel everywhere else in South Africa.

According to Golden Arrow Bus Services Company Engineer Gideon Neethling, a key takeaway from Golden Arrow’s electric bus journey has been the power of partnerships. “As part of planning for this project, we visited a number of international electric bus operations and the golden thread behind their successes were partnerships with business, government, and civil society. We have been engaging with a variety of stakeholders and will be looking to establish further partnerships so that this project can benefit the transport industry and economy,” says Neethling.

“As a cornerstone of Cape Town’s public transport system, Golden Arrow Bus Services is leading the way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by introducing these electric buses into its fleet. In the public transport sector, the shift to electric vehicles is critical to achieving sustainable mobility for commuters and creating economic opportunities and job creation in various sectors of the province. These vehicles also create opportunities for entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises in the electric mobility sector and takes us closer to achieving our long-term vision to be a net zero emissions, climate resilient and job creating province,” said Isaac Sileku, Western Cape Minister of Mobility.

So, BasiGo is bringing 100 electric buses to Rwanda this year and GABS is bringing 120 electric buses to Cape Town this year. These are substantial numbers for both places to kickstart the transition to electric buses. I look forward to following the progress of these initiatives.