E-Bus Express starts Jinja-Iganga commuter service

November 25, 2024 in Business, Companies, Trade & Industry, Transport by Editor

E-Bus Express, a subsidiary of Uganda’s automaker Kiira Motors Corporation KMC, is set to launch a scheduled bus service that besides comfort and convenience also introduces the first cashless fare settlement system in Uganda’s public transport system. The service which will rely on KMC’s proven fleet of electric coaches, will operate on the40-kilometre Jinja-Iganga route, one the  high-traffic-density sectors in Uganda.

While a  definitive date has not been determined, 256BN has learned that commercial operations, which will be operated by E-Bus Express, KMC ‘s transport and logistics subsidiary, will start in January 2025.

“E-Bus Xpress is a transport and logistics venture providing clean safe timely and comfortable transportation for passengers and goods on schedule keeping you connected on the road with fast internet and air conditioning to make your trip an exceptional experience. The Venture utilizes the Kayoola e-Buses offering a green, clean, safe and energy efficient mobility experience with zero tail pipe emissions offering a quiet smooth ride with peerless value for money,” the company says in promotional material seen by 256BN.

KMC teased the market on November 24 , with a test-run from Njeru, 7km southwest of Jinja to Iganga, during which passengers were introduced to the operating features of the service, including the KaCyber card on which users will preload fares from their mobile money wallets. Fares start at UGX 1000 for the 7km from Njeru to Jinja, UGX 2000 for the first 20km and UGX3000 for the full trip to either Jinja or or Iganga. But discounted seasonal fares will be available ranging from UGX29,000 weekly for a single round-trip to UGX 1,233,000 annually.

The pilot run was timed to coincide with the November 24 anniversary, the date on which President Museveni launched Uganda’s first home-grown electric vehicle, the Kiira EV, in 2011.

“On 24.11.2011, HE Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Launched the Kiira EV at Makerere University, the Cradle of e-Mobility Innovation on the African Continent, Ushering a New Dawn for Dreamers Working to Drive Change for Economic Transformation of Africa. The Greek Stoic Philosopher, Epictetus once said: ‘You cannot hope to make progress in areas where you have not taken action.’ Today e-Bus XPRESS Commenced Operations on the Iganga Mbiko Green Belt with Peerless Community Engagement,” KMC chief executive officer Paul Isaac Musasizi, said in a social media post late Sunday.

The fully electric buses with on-board Wi-FI, full climate control including heating and air conditioning, will operate five round trips a day, with the first bus departing Jinja at 6am and the last one at 3pm daily. The reverse departures from Iganga will start at 7am and end at 6pm. Each trip will take 2 hours from the point of departure to the destination.

“The use of the Kayoola Electric Vehicles unlocks unprecedented opportunity for Import Substitution, Job Creation, Technology Transfer, and Ultimately, contributing towards the Realization of Uganda’s ambition of the 10 Fold Growth from an Economy of USD 50B to USD 500B by 2040 through e-Mobility Innovation and Industrialization,” the company says.

The KMC operated commuter fleet joins about three dozen Kayoola EV buses already in operation by different clients across Uganda. Cumulatively, the first three market validation Kayoola EV platforms have logged 0.6 million kilometres on Uganda roads.