Credit: Lewis Seymour
No-one had ever road tripped 6,000km through six African countries with a motorcycle solely powered by the sun, but PhD engineering student, Stephan Lacock, can tick this adventure off his bucket list. He led a team that drove from Nairobi in Kenya to Stellenbosch in South Africa on an electric Roam Air motorcycle, designed and built by a Kenyan-based developer of electric buses and motorcycles.
Lacock, of Stellenbosch University’s Electric Mobility Lab, wanted to highlight the potential of green alternatives in Africa’s public transport sector. According to the 2024 Decarbonisation of Transport in Africa Report, Africa currently contributes 4% of global transport emissions.
Why is a focus on electric vehicle (EV) technology in Africa’s public transport sector needed?
At the Electric Mobility Lab, we study the suitability and implementation of such technology in Africa because there is very little research and data-driven insights for policymakers and transport planners to work with. Our journey on the bike taught us lessons that can be transferred to public transport. We know that, in particular, improving the efficiency and sustainability of taxis used in urban areas by electrification will help people to access jobs, services, markets and socio-economic opportunities. Electrification, especially when coupled with abundant renewable energy sources like solar power in the region, offers a pathway toa more sustainable and economically feasible transport system for the urban poor.
Is there enough opportunity to transition the public transport sector to electric mobility?
Given their widespread use and high daily mileage, electrifying minibus taxis could significantly reduce carbon emissions and improve localised air quality in African cities. In cities such as Johannesburg, Lagos, Kampala and Dar es Salaam, public transport accounts for between 70% and 98% of all trips taken daily. Minibus taxis handle 83% of passengers using the paratransit industry – the informal or semi-formal transport sector - of sub-Saharan Africa. In Kampala, minibus taxis represent 21% of all vehicles on the road and carry 82%1 of people in transit. Studies2 show that some 285,000 minibus taxis on South African roads are used daily by about 84% (or approximately 15 million) road-using commuters.
While on the road, you defended your PhD upgrade proposal about electrifying Sub-Saharan Africa’s public transport system. Why is this an important issue to you?
I believe there’s more value in putting more electric taxis and motorcycles on the road within an existing network than trying to overhaul and build entirely new systems such as costly bus rapid transport systems (BRTs) which require dedicated bus lanes and bus stations. I don’t want Sub-Saharan Africa, which is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, to be left behind in the global move towards sustainable transport options. We can’t separate renewable energy from electric mobility. If we do, we will continue the trend of global warming.
The bikers were accompanied by two support vehicles. One served as a mobile charging station for the motorcycle’s swappable batteries. It was equipped with a battery bank and solar panels. Only solar power was used to recharge the motorcycle’s batteries on the journey.Credit: Lewis Seymour
Which lessons did you learn during the trip?
I learned that it is impossible to plan and prepare to the last percentile when running projects in Africa. At some point, you just must step into action – in our case, start driving. I realised that something like an electric motorcycle can definitely help the continent’s people make the most of their time and potential. On a personal level, I learnt that research and innovation can only inspire when it steps out of the environment in which it is done to start having a practical outcome that changes people’s lives.
Two bikes were brought from Kenya. What happens to them now?
They will be used for further studies per a research agreement between Roam and the Electric Mobility Lab. For my PhD, for instance, I simulate and characterise electric vehicles to assess their performance and improve their design. Other postgraduate researchers of the lab work on other vehicle types, such as minibus taxis, buses and tractors. Our work is about using electric vehicles and renewable energy to reduce the environmental impact of transport.
Our trip showed that it is entirely possible to use solar power as a transport solution. On our second last day, we drove 1000km. People, especially those relying on public transport, are ready for transport alternatives. Unfortunately, the infrastructure and policy needed are lacking, even though electric motorcycles are already abundant in East Africa, along with larger buses. Companies such as Roam and BasiGO in Kenya, and South Africa’s Golden Arrow Bus Service already lead by example. Rwanda is investing heavily. Wherever we went, be it Malawi, Botswana or Zambia, people immediately understood the value and benefits of electric motorcycles.
What is needed to see this realised?
Our energy infrastructure must transition to renewables to mitigate the increase in demand from electric vehicles. Energy providers, policy makers and the public transport sector must work together to prompt a green transition. In Cape Town, South Africa, this is beautifully showcased by the Golden Arrow Bus service with its in-house solar plant and 120 electric buses. The South African government’s White Paper on electric vehicles urges the country’s larger automotive industry to start manufacturing EVs, also for export. The reality is that Africa is nearly 12 years behind Eastern countries in implementing electric mobility and developing related technologies. From downstream to upstream industrialization, Africa needs collaboration to catch up.
Which challenges stand in the way of getting African-manufactured electric motorcycles to other countries?
Import taxes make it costly, especially when countries do not share trade agreements. Designing and building original equipment, especially in the automotive sector, is traditionally very difficult and expensive. For Roam, for instance, it has taken seven years to reach the point where they hope to be selling their 5000th bike this year. The tendency of governments and industry to finance and sell such motorcycles by equipping large fleets does not benefit individual people outside industry structures. The financing and trading of such vehicles require more policy and investment to get off the ground.
