NopeaRide Collaborates with The University of Nairobi

Nopea Ride is the largest EV taxi service providers in Africa. Currently it is the only that provides the electric transportation services in Kenya. In may 2020 it signed a collaboration with the University of Nairobi ,Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation.

This is a win win for the both parties because they all fight for one noble course which is clean environment which is free from pollution.

Nopea was launched in Kenya in August 2018 by Finnish company EkoRent. It has so far installed 6 charging stations and chargers in three locations, including the Two Rivers Mall, the Hub Karen, and Thika Road Mall. The Two Rivers Mall ( which is open to the Nopea taxi drivers ) operates a 12 megawatt solar as the main source, and in case the there's in no solar and the grid power is down then diesel power is used, while Hub Karen has installed a 450-kilowatt solar electric power generating plant. An electric taxi can travel 150 kilometres on a full charge. Nairobi being the capital city of Kenya, it is highly populated hence struggles with air pollution, electric taxis are an opportunity for cleaner transport and also a way to make money.

To help encourage the adoption of electric vehicles, the 2019 finance bill set a reduced excise duty on electric-powered vehicles from 20% to 10%. Earlier in the year(2019), the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), adopted electric vehicle standards. However, according to CEO of Nopea ride Juha Suojanen, this has not been the case because there are no commercial EVs hence the challenge of determining the cost of EVs, therefore the current duty is still heavy on the importations, there is a need for the government to zero-rate electric cars and capitalize on business opportunities, jobs, and the circular investment to be created by the electric vehicle industry.

Kenyans are open-minded people who are ready to try new things a reason for having the EV taxis around. Juha expressed confidence in the fact that Kenyans are already conversant with taxi-hailing apps in Nairobi. In case you are wondering how to access their services you can download their nopea ride app on google play store, get a ride of the decade.