First electric minibus taxi in South Africa

The project team who has brought the first electric minibus taxi to South Africa wants to accelerate the transition of public transport to electric.  Petrol prices are shooting through the roof. Everyone is starting to feel the pinch, especially commuters who are experiencing increasing transport fares. Currently the average South African commuter spends up to 40% of their income on transport and the minibus taxi sector is still struggling from the impact of COVID-19 from the last two years on their operations. However, relief could be possible from an unlikely source – electric minibus taxis. Privately-owned minibus taxis are ubiquitous in sub-Saharan Africa and carry more than 70% of daily commuters.

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For the past five years GoMetro, a global mobility management technology company with its head office in Cape Town, has collected data on taxi operations across South Africa. In order to advance e-mobility development locally, GoMetro has convened a project team of innovative companies and researchers to launch a demonstrator project to test the first minibus in South African conditions by January 2023.

Taxi owners intrigued by the shift to EVs

Justin Coetzee, CEO of GoMetro: “Taxi drivers and owners are very interested and intrigued by the idea of an electric minibus taxi, and are constantly asking us when the first electric minibus taxi will arrive on our shores.” The project team consists of GoMetro, MiX Telematics, HSW, ACDC Dynamics and various entities within Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Engineering and they will conduct rigorous and extensive testing in and around the town of Stellenbosch. They will also put the electrification of the minibus taxi sector firmly on the national agenda by means of an educational roadshow in all nine provinces during 2023. “We have built valuable relationships with a large number of taxi associations, and the ever-increasing fuel price is a massive concern among owners, drivers and riders alike, as there does not seem to be any relief in sight. The industry has long acknowledged that business as usual will not suffice and that change is required, especially after the effects of COVID-19,” said Coetzee.

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The new electric minibus taxi in SA

A number of viable electric minibus taxi models from various markets have been identified, the first of which will be on South African shores by the end of this year. The acceptance and practicality of the model will be extensively tested with taxi owners and drivers, in order to identify the use-cases and conditions where an electric taxi would make the most sense.

The aim of testing different models over the coming months is to establish which vehicle will be best suited to the South African public transport industry, and what spectrum of operations are conducive to the range capabilities of the vehicles. In addition to testing the vehicle itself, the project team wants to engage with the automotive sector and policy makers to encourage proactive discussions with the government around the reduction of duties and the promotion of the adoption of electric vehicles in the transport sector.

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A collaborative project for an exciting future

Catherine Lewis, Executive VP of Technology at (global fleet and mobile asset management solutions delivered as software as a service company) MiX Telematics said being at the forefront of innovation and leveraging new technologies to improve fleet operations and efficiency, they are very excited to be part of this pioneering initiative. “We have seen the adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles increasing exponentially in Europe and also look forward to learning how we can support these solutions in the South African context,” said Lewis. Professor Thinus Booysen, Research Chair in the Internet of Things at Stellenbosch University, will lead the team of testing experts. “The informal taxi sector must transform to EVs, but little is known about their energy requirements. This unknown is overshadowed by our energy scarcity and coal dependence on the electricity supply side. This collaborative project will ensure we are prepared for and carefully manage this exciting transition,” said Booysen. According to Dr Bernard Bekker, Associate Director of Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES), the future electrification of transport in South Africa raises significant technical and regulatory challenges related to integrating electric transport into our existing grid infrastructure.

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EV challenges unique to SA

These challenges are in many ways unique to South Africa, where minibus taxis will potentially represent a much larger proportion of the future electrical fleet than for example Europe or the USA. “The availability of a real-life electric minibus taxi to inform our research activities will provide very valuable inputs into addressing these challenges,” said Bekker. Mario Maio, Founder and Managing Director of ACDC Dynamics pointed out the minibus taxi is ubiquitous in the South African landscape, moving millions of people over the years, contributing to getting South Africa to work. “Unfortunately, in an environmentally unsustainable manner. ACDC Dynamics is proud to be part of the change that will be brought to this industry as it adopts electric/ battery powered taxis through our capabilities to supply battery charging networks across the country,” said Maio.

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Localisation of manufacturing

Ryan Webb, Managing Member of manufacturer and supplier of electric components, HSW, said the Western Cape has all the technical skills and resources to set up manufacturing facilities in support of such an initiative. “There are already existing Electronic Manufacturers who have world class capabilities in the manufacturing of electronic products such as Barracuda Holdings who is one of HSW’s key customers as evidence that this type of hi-tech manufacturing technology is already available locally.”

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Electric vehicles (EVs) are heralded as a silver bullet to globally decarbonise the transport sector. The development of low-carbon transport in cities is part of the global agenda to delay climate change and relates to many of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. While EV sales have increased substantially in the Global North and many global vehicle manufacturers plan to stop production of combustion engines as early as 2030, in sub-Saharan Africa, the transition to EVs continues to be painstakingly slow. This research project aims to accelerate this transition to cleaner and greener mobility.