A Kenyan startup named Roam has launched a 90-seater electric bus to tackle the public transport challenges in the East Africa country and other parts of the continent.
What’s more?
The electric bus runs on a 384-kWh battery pack that can serve a range of 360 kilometres (or 9hours at an average speed of 40km/hour). The electric bus charges by connecting to a DC charging port and it can reach full charge in two hours.
- Roam prioritized comfort seats for the elderly and individuals with limited mobility. They also added extra leg room, designated areas for people in wheelchairs, and low boarding and disembarking points for passengers.
What you should know
Roam, founded in 2017, was rebranded this year after raising US$7.5 million in equity and grant funding in late 2021. Roam in rebranding changed its name from Opibus.
The company with the launch of this electric bus, also known as “Roam Rapid” becomes the leading provider of electric vehicles designed and manufactured in Kenya.
In other African countries, including Rwanda, South Africa and Egypt, plans are ongoing to replace diesel buses with electric vehicles. While the Egyptian manufacturer named Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles (MCV) is producing 70 buses at the cost of $17 million, South Africa’s Rheinmetall, with headquarters in Germany, has started replacing 350 internal combustion vehicles with electrically powered buses.