A Nairobi-based technology company is introducing what it says is the first African-designed fully electric bus.

Business Insider Africa reports that Swedish-Kenyan firm Opibus designed and developed the bus, which will be deployed in peri-urban areas around the Nairobi metropolitan area.

It says the bus offers operators an 80% reduction in maintenance costs compared to diesel vehicles, as the absence of a combustion engine and manual gearboxes means no oil, filters or gaskets need to be replaced.

Dennis Wakaba, the public co-ordinator of public transport at Opibus, says the commercial launch is scheduled for mid-2022. ‘Following this, the platform will be tested at scale in commercial deployment of 10 buses during the second half of 2022. In doing so, we ensure that we gather valuable feedback to continue the development of the product for an optimised market fit.’

Opibus will also install several charging points across the areas of deployment. The chargers will offer a combination of slow and fast chargers, and – using the fast charger – a vehicle can be fully charged in an hour.

1 February 2021
Images: Opibus