The government plans to stop registering petrol-powered motorcycles for public transport in the City of Kigali from January 2025 in a move aimed at only considering electric motorbikes for such a business.

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Infrastructure minister Jimmy Gasore, told The New Times on November 1, that the country is not banning importation of petrol motorcycles, but he pointed out that the government is putting more efforts into e-mobility.

He specified that the petrol motorcycles that are already doing public transport in the city will not be affected by the move as "they will keep business as usual.”

In this article, The New Times looks at ways how the move will affect the country.

1. Potential reduction in air polluting emissions

The transition to e-motorbikes, experts say, would prevent an annual 70,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, and provide health benefits through improved air quality.

Juliet Kabera, the Director General of the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) says e-motorbikes are both eco-friendly and affordable, noting that they are also good for cost savings.

2. More affordable transport

The impact of scaling up electric motorbikes in Rwanda, a 2020 policy brief by the International Growth Centre, indicated that a full transition to e-motorcycles by 2025 would mean that instead of spending approximately Rwf23 billion on fuel imports annually, Rwf14 billion would be spent on electricity, a net saving of Rwf9 billion per year on energy.

3. Limited access to spare parts

As the impending move draws closer, petrol-powered motorcycle taxi operators expressed concerns over a potential shortage of access to spare parts for their vehicles, if the government’s decision takes effect.

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"For instance, if petrol engine components get old, getting their replacement will be unlikely,” said Jean Claude Mbarushimana, a petrol motorcycle taxi operator in Kigali.

Egide Niyonzima, another petrol motorcycle taxi operator in Kigali, also said that access to spare parts could be limited, an issue that could stem from excluding such motorbikes in question from public transport.

4. A boom in electric motorcycle business

If the move is implemented, the demand for electric motorbikes is expected to rise and thus, companies in such a business may have to increase their production in order to meet it.

Rwanda Electric Motors (REM Ltd) CEO, Donald Kabanda, told The New Times that there are various companies in the electric motorbike business.

"Each company in the electric motorbike business needs to double its [production] capacity or increase it by many times so that we are able to match the demand with the supply, because many petrol motorcycles were being produced,” he said.

The existing companies in e-motorbikes are Rwanda Electric Motors, Ampersand, Spiro, and Safiride, he indicated.

5. Converting petrol motorcycles to electric ones may become more common

In line with ensuring that the petrol motorcycles already registered for public transport operate in a sustainable manner, Kabanda said, REM Ltd provides a retrofitting solution – consisting in converting them to electric motorcycles. The retrofitting includes replacing petrol engines, exhausts, and chains with electric components.

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The cost, he said, depends on the type (nature and features) of the bike to be converted, but pointed out it ranges from Rwf800,000 and Rwf1 million. Overall, he observed, such an amount is about half of the cost of a new motorcycle.

"This is a solution that can fast-track the conversion of the already registered petrol motorbikes to electric,” he said, adding that it can help address the release of air polluting emissions.

While electric motorcycles would be expensive compared to petrol run ones, Kabanda pointed out that tax waiver as an incentive on the former by the government, makes them almost cost the same amount as the latter, with prices varying depending on their types.