Electric Taxis in Kampala: Is it a Bold Vision or Just another Promise

[Eronda]

Union business products advisor Fred Ssenoga Bagenda was part of the team that visited China.

Uganda's taxi industry is once again promising an electric revolution. Leaders of the Union of Taxi Operators and Drivers have told delegates that a feasibility study is complete, and the switch from fuel to electric taxis could begin as early as November. After a benchmarking trip to China, the union says it identified an 18-seater taxi from HIGER Bus Company that it considers suitable and affordable for Uganda.

It's an exciting pitch no fuel costs, minimal servicing, and a cleaner, quieter city. But before we celebrate, it's worth asking: haven't we heard this before?

This isn't Uganda's first attempt at electrifying public transport, and the track record so far has been mixed.
Back in 2023, an electric mobility startup announced ambitious plans to convert Kampala's boda boda fleet to electric bikes over five years a rollout that has moved far slower than the initial hype suggested.

In 2024, FreedomEV partnered with KCCA to launch what was billed as Uganda's first fully electric commuter taxi, promising 250–300km of range per charge at a fraction of fuel costs. Yet electric taxis remain a rare sight on Kampala's roads today, years after that launch.

Then in 2026, KCCA and Kiira Motors rolled out electric buses on select city routes a move that actually sparked backlash from taxi operators themselves, who argued that government backed, tax exempt e-buses created unfair competition against private taxi operators already struggling with full tax obligations and fuel costs.

Now, the same taxi industry that criticized government's electric bus rollout is proposing its own electric taxi transition. A separate transport alliance has floated a similar timeline, suggesting operators could access electric taxis through instalment financing rather than paying the full cost upfront but has also acknowledged that battery-swapping infrastructure must be in place first, something that does not yet exist at scale in Kampala.

To be fair, there are reasons for cautious optimism. Financing arrangements that lower the upfront burden on individual drivers could make adoption more realistic than previous top-down pilots. And with growing pressure to cut fuel costs and reduce emissions, the economic case for going electric is stronger than it was even two years ago.

But the core challenges that stalled earlier efforts haven't disappeared:

• Charging and battery-swapping infrastructure is still largely non-existent outside pilot projects.
• Affordability remains a barrier — new electric taxi models can cost significantly more than the used fuel vehicles many operators currently run.
• Coordination between taxi operators, boda riders, KCCA, and government has historically been rocky, as seen in the pushback over electric buses.
• Follow-through several previous EV announcements in Uganda's transport sector have not scaled beyond a handful of pilot vehicles.

November is not far off. If this transition is genuine, we should start seeing charging infrastructure, clear financing terms, and pilot vehicles on the road well before then. If it's another announcement that fades into the background like previous ones, that will become obvious just as quickly.