Uganda has launched Kampala’s first electric commuter bus service, with eight locally assembled Kayoola buses now running on a new Ntinda–City Square route under E-Bus Xpress, a subsidiary of state-linked Kiira Motors Corporation.
Works and Transport Minister Edward Katumba Wamala unveiled the route on May 13. The service runs at 15-minute intervals along Kampala Road with a fully cashless payment system — the first of five circuits planned for the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area. The Kayoola buses are manufactured locally by Kiira Motors, which the government has positioned as a core part of its push for energy self-reliance and local industrial capacity.
The Kampala rollout follows a pilot run in Jinja in late 2024. Katumba Wamala made the financial case directly: “Every electric mile driven is capital saved from fuel imports,” he said at the launch, adding that electricity-based fares are more predictable than petrol-linked ones. Uganda’s target is 1,500 electric buses across 14 urban centres by June 2030, supported by 260 fast-charging stations. A franchise model is intended to bring informal transport operators into the formal system, with officials citing jobs in vehicle servicing, charging infrastructure, and mobile payments as a secondary benefit.
Uganda joins Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia in expanding electric public transport. The 2030 target — 1,500 buses across 14 cities — means the Kampala launch is the opening commitment on a national programme the government has written into its National Development Plan IV.
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