BasiGo’s mission is to create the future of clean, electric public transport in Africa. Launched in Nairobi, Kenya, BasiGo has made impressive debuts and expanded to Kigali.
Achievements
In March 2022, BasiGo launched the first ever electric buses into pilot passenger operation in Nairobi, Kenya. The company has grown its fleet to 19 electric buses deployed with 6 different private bus operators in Nairobi. BasiGo electric buses in Kenya have traveled over 1 million kilometers, carried over 1.2 million passengers, mitigated ~500 tonnes of CO2 emissions, and avoided over 190,000 litres of diesel consumption since beginning operations.
Within SOLUTIONSplus, BasiGo launched the first electric buses in Kigali in December 2023 with a pilot of four electric buses, operated by two separate public transport operators beginning in December 2023. The purpose of the pilot is to test and analyse the technical, economic, and operational performance of electric buses in the Kigali public transport operating environment. Results from the project will help inform the development strategy and financing model for scaling electric buses and charging infrastructure in Kigali, as part of the SOLUTIONSplus-supported E-Bus Master Plan.
Innovation
BasiGo’s key innovation is the Pay-As-You-Drive financing platform which eliminates the high upfront cost of an Electric Bus for private operators, while offering convenient and reliable charging and maintenance services. The original Pay-As-You-Drive model let bus operators in Kenya purchase an electric bus for the same upfront cost as equivalent diesel buses. BasiGo achieved this by excluding the expensive lithium-ion battery from the value of the bus. Instead, the battery was leased to operators through BasiGo’s mileage-based Pay-As-You-Drive lease.