Roam launches mass-transit bus operation in Kenya

Roam, a Swedish-Kenyan technology company has launched the first-ever electric, public mass transit bus operation in Kenya. The dubbed Roam Rapid according to the firm aims to address the unique challenges of public transport by providing a reliable, sustainable, efficient, and modern mass transit solution.

The bus which was launched in Nairobi, features an end-to-end user experience design equipped with a 384-kWh battery and has a range of 360 km on a single charge. This is significant as the bus can run full-day operations without a top-up charge depending on the operator’s schedule.

Roam Rapid

For the bus to return to full capacity, charging will take less than two hours. For this reason, two DC 180kW chargers have been fitted at the Roam warehouse to cater to full charges and top-ups. These chargers remain the only charging infrastructure in the ecosystem, presently, with more coming in the future. Additionally the bus requires far less servicing compared to its diesel-run counterparts. Due to increased fuel prices, it also reduces operational costs by up to 50%.

The 77 passengers bus will operate on the Thika Superhighway, Mombasa Road and Waiyaki Way as the initial routes. The bus is currently running its operations from Fire Station Lane in the Central Business District to Juja.

“This launch is the first step in Roam’s vision to see city streets paved with hundreds of electric buses by 2023. Initially, the target is the Nairobi Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) tender which will see the deployment of 100 buses onto Kenyan roads. At Roam, we aim to guarantee access to comfortable, equitable and reliable public transport to shift the masses to electric public transport in Nairobi,” said Dennis Wakaba, Project Coordinator, Roam.