Within the past year, electric motorbike initiative has yielded great success for Uber Kenya, with the number of trips across the city of Nairobi increasing by 94%. If one thing is proved, it is that there is fast adoption of e-mobility solutions across this city, which has been facilitated by a strategic partnership with Greenwheels, an e-mobility firm.
The partnership with Greenwheels has grown the number of riders from 50 to nearly 500 within one year. The growth in size is primarily contributed to by increasing the number of e-bikes and opening up access to more battery-swapping stations. According to the chief executive officer of Greenwheels, Nabil Anjarwalla, every ride via Uber Electric Boda saves 85 grams of carbon, hence a critical boost towards the war against climate change.
Greenwheels, in celebration of this great initiative, announced a major increase in its maintenance and tech department from three employees last year to 75 employees today. “We are happy to celebrate this important milestone in driving Kenya’s shift to green mobility with Uber. In just our first year, we’ve already moved over 700,000 passengers and covered more than 12 million kilometers on electric motorcycles, and there’s so much more yet to be done,” Anjarwalla said.
The most alluring feature of Uber’s operations remains an electric Boda option, which saves on gas through various cost-effective advantages. Drivers pocket more as maintenance costs drop 30-35%. According to Imran Manji, Head of Uber East Africa, this has served to better the earnings of drivers hence their support of Kenya’s quest towards sustainability.
It formalizes a largely unorganized boda boda sector in Kenya by employing e-bike riders and putting them on stable salaries, allowances, and bonuses linked to performance. “As we continue to scale, we’re committed to reducing carbon emissions, providing formal employment, and ensuring safe, convenient transport for Nairobians,” said Anjarwalla.
To facilitate seamless movement of the e-bikes, about 100 battery-swapping stations have been installed across Nairobi. The headquarters of Greenwheels in Westlands hosts an East African leading stock of 400 e-bike batteries. According to the company, a number of concerns raised by it over the expansion of EV-charging infrastructure identify conditions—costly ones—imposed by Kenya Power (KPLC) as the main hindrance.
Notwithstanding the fact that initiatives by both Uber’s Electric Boda and Greenwheels do succeed, it spells out hope for a greener and more sustainable future of urban mobility in Kenya.