It has a sitting capacity of 90 people. They have Wifi, USB sockets, air conditioners, a flat-screen TV, an automatic sanitiser, a wooden bamboo floor, a rechargeable Battery and PWDs Sears. It is owned by a Ugandan company, Kiira Motors.
Table of Contents
The buses are a product of the Vehicle Design Project; a research innovative that aims to use technology to create transportation solutions in Uganda and also in Africa as a whole. According to Kiira EV’s page, the official name of this project, it had been inspired by Vehicle Design Summit (VDS) held in 2008.
Among the 35 Research Universities that partook in the 2008 VDS project, Makerere University had been the only African team. This team also designed the Power Train and in-Vehicle Communication Network for the project.
Thus, armed with this experience, the university students completed their own set of electric-powered buses; which they unveiled on Friday, 22nd May 2020.
The Corporation under which they build these vehicles is known as Kiira Motors. It is a local company that the Government of the Republic of Uganda owns 96% of. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation represents the government’s interest; and Makerere University owns the remaining 4%.
The KMC journey dates back to 2007 when over 31 universities and colleges across the world took part in a Vehicle Design Summit (VDS) to design and bring to market a 5-Seater plug-in hybrid electric vehicle; the Vision 200, targeting the Indian market.
About Electric Buses Called Kayoola EVS
The Kayoola EVS is a Fully Electric Low Floor Bus specifically designed for Urban Mass Transportation. At full charge, the Kayoola EVS has a range of up to 300 kilometres making it capable of seamlessly handling the daily duty cycle. With a sitting capacity of up to 90 passengers, the Kayoola EVS is positioned to offer great returns for the bus operator while enabling the reduction in congestion on the city roads.
The Kayoola EVS is fitted with state-of-the-art safety and assistive technology for people with special needs including special seats and a ramp for easy boarding and off-boarding of people in wheelchairs.
The Kayoola EVS is premised to facilitate a totally sustainable mass mobility solution for Urban Centers in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Specifications
| Bus Characteristic | Pure Electric Low Entry City Bus |
| Overall Dimensions (mm) | 12,190×2,550×3,200 |
| Carrying Capacity | 90 (49 Seated, 41 Standing) |
| Maximum Motor Power (kW) | 245 |
| Torque (Nm) | 3,300 |
| Range on Single Charge (km) | 300 |
| Battery Bank Energy Capacity (AH) | 560 |
