A pilot electric bus project has been inaugurated by Swedish technology start-up Roam in Nairobi, Kenya.
Roam intends to provide commuter services between the central business district and the city’s outskirts in the next 12 months.
This is the first electric-powered bus to operate in Nairobi, a city of more than four million people. To begin with, Roam unveiled one bus that can transport 77 passengers.
It aims to bring 100 buses on board, within two years to be operated by a local provider and the Nairobi city authorities.
The launch is seen as part of a plan by the Kenyan government to launch a Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system in the capital.
Roam says it is in the final stages of the tendering process which, if successful, will see it supply electric buses for the project.
Kenyan authorities have since 2019 failed to lure investors into the $825m (£733m) BRT project due to poor systematic policies.
A World Bank report suggests that unstructured competition from informal buses, minibuses and taxis, as well as difficulties in finalising compensation plans, are partly responsible for low private-sector investment in the modern transport model.
