Kenyan electric mobility startup BasiGo has launched the country’s first pilot programme for electric matatus (public transport minivans) on inter-city routes, a small but symbolic step in the country’s push to decarbonise public transport.
Two transport Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (Saccos)—4NTE and Manchester Travellers Coach—will partake in the trial. One van each will ply the Nyahururu–Nyeri, Nyahururu–Nakuru, and Thika–Nairobi routes, all popular corridors about 100-250km outside the capital. The initiative extends BasiGo’s electric mobility vision from Nairobi’s congested urban centres to longer-distance transport corridors used daily by thousands of commuters.
Each of the new vans has a range of 300 kilometres on a single charge and takes 90 minutes to recharge. BasiGo has installed charging stations in Thika and Nyahururu to support the trial. The vehicles will be offered under the company’s “Pay-As-You-Drive” model, a lease-to-own scheme aimed at matatu operators who can’t afford the steep upfront cost of new vehicles.
“We are delighted to extend electric mobility beyond Nairobi, and electrify an iconic part of Kenya’s history — the matatu,” said Moses Nderitu, BasiGo Managing Director. “By partnering with SACCOs like 4NTE and Manchester, we’re showing that electric mobility is not only possible, but practical for intercity and inter-county transit.”
Wilfred Kimotho, chairman of 4NTE Sacco, which runs vehicles between Nyahururu, Nakuru, and Nyeri, called the partnership a “step into the future,” adding that the sector can’t afford to be left behind as the rest of the world transitions to cleaner energy.
The electric matatu, though, has plenty to prove. Kenya’s matatu network is informal, heavily diesel-dependent, and notoriously hard to regulate. Operators are often sceptical of change, and many lack the capital or trust in new technology to make the switch.
Charging infrastructure also remains thin outside of major cities, and questions remain about how EVs will hold up on rougher rural roads and during peak demand.
If the pilot succeeds, BasiGo says it will scale up quickly. The company, which launched in 2021, is targeting more than 1,000 electric vans across Kenya in the next few years. Like its electric buses, the vans will eventually be assembled locally. In 2024, it raised $41.5 million to expand its assembly line in Nairobi.
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