Demonstration City: Kigali
Inform
Tools and guides on shared systems and their application in various cities were incorporated into the SOLUTIONSplus online toolbox, along with knowledge products on specific vehicle technologies and charging strategies for electric motorcycles in East Africa (for instance, ‘Electrifying motorcycle-taxi fleets - Illustrative examples from East Africa ‘, ‘Supporting the Shift to Electric-Wheelers in Uganda’, ‘Supporting the Shift to Electric-Wheelers in Kenya’). In the context of Kigali specifically, these included Policy Advice Papers concerning crucial aspects relevant to the promotion of e-mobility in the country. The key publications included: 'Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure - Kigali Demonstration Action', 'Electric Bicycles in Rwanda: Fiscal and Regulatory Framework,' and 'Improving Gender Equality Through Electric Mobility: Learnings from the SOLUTIONSplus pilot in Kigali, Rwanda.’ Additionally, the research activities conducted in connection to the SOLUTIONSplus project contributed to numerous publications concerning the integration of private operations into e-mobility transitioning process, a review of digitalization and electrification trends for motorcycle taxi services in East African capital cities, the potential for Mobility-as-a-Service applications across the pilots and in Kigali, and research on women’s intentions to work in male-dominated professions through the case of motorcycle taxis in Kigali.
Inspire
Capacity-building activities addressed the training needs expressed by the African demonstration partners at the inception of the project in 2020, dedicating two full weeks of training on EV Charging Infrastructure in 2021, before shifting to the topic of EV battery technologies and end-of-life management in 2022, and public transport electrification in 2023. These training sessions addressed both regional cross-cutting topics and peer exchange, and city-specific sessions.
In 2022, two peer-to-peer trainings were organized on the vehicle types deployed in the African demonstration actions. A large peer-to-peer training involving more than eight cities facilitated the exchange on electric bikeshare systems. Peer-to-peer exchanges on the deployment of electric three-wheelers in urban environments were facilitated by the SOLUTIONSplus and the Decarbonising Transport in Emerging Economies (DTEE) projects in July 2022.
2023 saw the participation of Kigali’s partners in the Dar es Salaam E-Mobility Forum, a major local and regional event on East African e-mobility developments and training on the electrification of public transport. Further capacity-building and exchanges occurred in October 2023, including a series of events during the Walk21 conference organized in Kigali. These discussions concentrated on the overlapping issues of road safety and e-mobility development. Additionally, activities took place on an academic level with a dedicated master module at the Technical University of Berlin realized between 2022 and 2023, focusing on the development of three speculative design solutions for public transportation, e-mobility, and road safety in the city. In November 2023 at the Africa E-Mobility Week in Nairobi, SOLUTIONSplus trained regional workshop participants on the five principles for gender-inclusive e-mobility project identified during through the Kigali demonstration action.
Building upon the success of the first edition in 2023, a second E-Mobility Forum was organisation in Dakar in Mary 2024, extending the training on public transport electrification to electric Bus Rapid Transit systems.
Initiate
Three startups received financial support in Kigali through UN-Habitat and UEMI: Ampersand (electric motorcycle-taxis), Guraride (bikeshare), and BasiGo (electric buses). In addition, technical advice support was provided by EU companies – consortium members of SOLUTIONSplus or external companies selected through EU matchmaking calls – on various aspects such as battery sizing, battery design, drivetrain, and the operation and maintenance of shared fleets, in particular shared bicycles. Critical support was provided by the German company PEM Motion, selected through the second EU matchmaking call to review both Ampersand’s new battery design and battery industrialization strategy. This EU-local cooperation holds significant promise, especially as Ampersand experiences rapid expansion with a fleet and leads the transition to electric motorcycles in East Africa with 1,350 motorcycle taxis and more than 10 swapping stations in Kigali (Rwanda) and Nairobi (Kenya).
Implement
The local living lab concentrated on three key areas: electric motorcycle taxis, shared bicycles, and electric buses.
The first area of intervention in Kigali covers motorcycle taxis, to support the transition from fossil-fuel to electric motorcycles. Alongside the financial and technical support to Ampersand, the project had a strong focus on gender inclusivity. Following an assessment of success factors for gender-inclusive projects, recruitment and ad-hoc driving training, 24 electric motorcycles were handed over to local women in November 2022. The SOLUTIONSplus team kept monitoring their activities and challenges faced. In addition, it conducted research to understand perceptions of the trained women as well as potential women-drivers in Kigali.
The second area of intervention for two-wheeled vehicles in Kigali addresses conventional and electric bicycles. On 9 September 2021, Guraride’s bikeshare system was launched with 80 conventional bicycles, deployed on two pilot corridors (eastern neighbourhood near a major bus terminal, and in the central business district). In order to facilitate the deployment of an electric bikeshare system, technical advice support was provided by the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI), ITDP Africa, Goodmoovs on various aspects of bikeshare systems, such as technical advice on the redistribution of bicycles, the operation of shared systems, as well as technical and financing options to charge e-bicycles batteries. A large peer-to-peer training involving more than eight cities worldwide facilitated the exchange on electric bikeshare systems in 2022. Despite support, the company faced a combination of multiple financial, supply chain, and institutional challenges and was not able to introduce electric bicycles during the project’s lifespan. Recommendations were identified on suitable financial and operational parameters for a viable bikeshare system integrating electric bicycles in the longer run. In addition to the bikeshare system, cycling and intermodality is supported through 80 bike racks deployed by the City at strategic locations in July 2022.
Regarding electric buses, a pilot allowed the introduction of four buses deployed by the Kenya-based company BasiGo in December 2023. These buses are operated by three separate public transport operators. BasiGo provides an innovative mileage-based operating lease of the entire electric bus, to overcome the hesitancy of local banks to provide asset finance to bus operators for the purchase of a new technology vehicle. This model reduces the upfront capital required and removes the uncertainty of residual value. During the pilot, the four electric buses completed a total of 51,795 km without any major reliability issues, serving a total of 224,144 commuters. 10 bus operators in Kigali have expressed their interest in acquiring electric buses with BasiGo.
Results from the project informed the development strategy and financing model for scaling electric buses, resulting in a Kigali E-Bus Master Plan initiated by the City of Kigali and ITDP in the second half of 2023. This study explores factors influencing the operations of electric buses, such as daily range, topography, and demand along each route. It incorporates a model to determine the routes which can go electric in the short and long terms, the energy required to power the electric buses, and the charging infrastructure technology to be adopted.
Impact
The City of Kigali initiated the E-mobility Technical Coordination Committee as part of SOLUTIONSplus, providing a well-recognised platform for information sharing and alignment between public and private organisations.
SOLUTIONSplus provided multidimensional policy support to deploy an EV charging infrastructure, recommendations for fiscal conditions for pedal-assist electric bicycles, and a City roadmap on electric mobility.
Planning support was provided by the Technical University of Berlin with a dedicated master module and Design Studio between 2022 and 2023 in partnership with the University of Rwanda and the City of Kigali, focusing on the development of design solutions for public transportation, e-mobility, and road safety in the city.
SOLUTIONS- plus supports scaling-up the projects, for instance, with recommendations to mainstream the gender inclusive approach given to the upcoming Mitigation Action Facility e-motorcycles project, or proposal to scale pilot in the IKI-funded Co-ProdUSE project on sector coupling. The ex-post evaluation found, based on the UNEP e-Mob calculator, a significant reduction potential for GHG emissions, if ICE vehicles are replaced with electric counterparts.
Achievements in Kigali
The SOLUTIONSplus demonstration action in Kigali supported various forms of electric mobility. The demonstration supported light electric two-wheeled vehicles in the form of electric motorcycle taxis. A bike share system with conventional bicycles was deployed along the most widely used bus corridors. A pilot successfully enabled the introduction of electric buses and supported the development of an E-Bus Master Plan.
Added tools and guides to SOLUTIONSplus toolbox. • Conducted capacity-building activities. • Provided financial support to three startups. • Focused on electric transport in Kigali. • Distributed 24 electric motorcycles to local women. • Launched a bike share system with conventional and electric bicycles. • Deployed four electric buses. • Established E-mobility Technical Coordination Committee. • Offered policy support for EV charging, electric bicycles, and mobility roadmap.
Preliminary Results
Final Results
E-mobility for last-mile connectivity
The demonstration action of the SOLUTIONSplus project in Kigali focuses on electric mobility for last-mile connectivity. It has a systemic approach integrating public transport bus services with electrified feeder services provided by electric moto-taxis and electric shared bicycles.
As a first step, the projects supports 50 shared e-bikes provided by Guraride and 10 e-moto taxis by Ampersand. Further support will increase the number of vehicles, alongside the corresponding needed charging infrastructure. A gender-inclusive dimension is central to the e-moto taxi component, reviewing conditions for the involvement of women in transport provision. This will ensure that at least 30 women are supported to obtain a driving license to drive an e-moto. The demonstration project is also testing the establishment of an e-bike sharing scheme along the most widely used bus corridors, with charging provided by dispatchers or battery swapping with mobile lockers.
To further support the first and last mile dimension, a Mobility-as-a-Service application is proposed and designed in cooperation with the transport regulatory authority and transport & IT providers.
Alongside this connectivity dimension, the SOLUTIONSplus project in Kigali supports the analysis of the feasibility to transition to electric buses. To that end, SolutionsPlus partners cooperate with stakeholders involved in bus electrification in Kigali and provide their technical expertise. Expectedly, the project will create a good precursor to public transport electrification in Kigali.
Finally, the SOLUTIONSplus project, via the creation of a dedicated position with the City of Kigali, supports the creation of an e-mobility technical committee. Its purpose is to enable deeper coordination between public entities, but also with the private sector and representatives of civil society. The support of SOLUTIONSplus is reinforced by ad-hoc capacity building and policy advice on policies and next steps to scale-up e-mobility in Kigali.
Trends and drivers
The main form of public transportation throughout Rwanda and in Kigali is the minibus system, which runs both scheduled and unscheduled services according to a shared taxi system. Vehicle number is increasing in Rwanda; and by 2030, it is projected that the annual increase in vehicles will reach 16.5% from the current 12%, and light-duty vehicles will increase by 20%. Rwanda’s CO2 emissions per capita is estimated at 0.074 metric tons in 2014; and in Kigali, the transport sector is said to contribute about 52% of CO2 emissions.
In response to these trends, the City of Kigali and RURA have made tremendous efforts to reorganize the city’s public transport system. The city currently runs a well organized bus system on regular shifts. Kigali is also promoting electric mobility by testing the use of electric motorbikes, known as e-moto. The aim is to provide a low cost and environmentally friendly mode of transport, mainly for motorcycle taxi riders. This initiative is being driven by private investors such as Ampersand which is an electric vehicle company with the mission to develop “mass-market shifts from petrol vehicles to direct, cheaper, better electric replacements”. Also, the German car maker Volkswagen is set to establish an assembly plant in Rwanda with first productions expected in 2019. The company also has plans for the manufacturing of electric cars in the future (Krauß, 2018). The presence of such investor-friendly environment in Rwanda makes it favourable to develop electric mobility in the country.
Kigali - Using the e-mobility transition to create a better urban future for women
Historically, the urban transport sector in many African cities has been overwhelmingly dominated by men. Only a minority of women, if any, ventured into the provision of transport services. When doing so, they were faced with a myriad of barriers, including challenging training conditions, situations of harassment and difficulties to operate in a safe environment. To address this key issue, SOLUTIONSPlus decided to proactively use the e-mobility transition in Kigali (Rwanda) to address the specific situation of women.
Together with Ampersand and GIZ Rwanda, the SOLUTIONSplus partners in Kigali jointly implemented a project to facilitate the involvement of women as drivers of electric motorcycle taxis. Thanks to the support of Urban Pathways, the women-led organization Flone Initiative conducted an initial analysis of the conditions for gender-inclusive projects to succeed. Several enabling facets were identified and implemented, such as ad-hoc driving training, specific conditions for the practical test, and financial support to access the electric motorcycles. This encompassing approach enables a driving test success rate of 69%, much higher than previous gender-inclusive projects.
On the 15th of November, 24 electric motorcycles were handed over to the women, who will now join the moto-taxi industry. SOLUTIONSplus partners will continue to monitor their activities, pursue further research on barriers faced by women, and discuss with external partners to identify conditions to scale up gender-inclusive e-mobility efforts in the long run.
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