(GIN)—The Ugandan manufacturers of a solar-powered bus are showing off their creation at a stadium in Kampala. A 35-seater, it uses two batteries and the direct rays of the equatorial sun.
Solar panels attached to the roof power the vehicle. Hopefully, partners will be found to help manufacture the bus for the mass market.
The brainchild of Kiira Motors Corporation of Uganda, the bus was dubbed “Kayoola,” loosely translated as “mass carrier.”
Isaa Musasizi, the chief executive officer of KMC, told journalists during the test drive at Namboole stadium Sunday that Kayoola was built at a cost of 500 million Ugandan shillings.
The solar panels yield energy to run the bus over a distance of 80 kilometers, approximately eight hours of uninterrupted travel.
“Uganda is privileged to be among the 13 countries in the whole world that are situated along the equator,” Musasizi said. “We decided to take advantage of this strategic position to improve transport technology.”
Most features on the bus are locally sourced and were brought together by a team of approximately 100 Ugandans, who did the wielding, spraying, wiring and other work.
Sandy Stevens Tickodri, the minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, said Kayoola could go a long way in addressing Uganda’s mass conveyance problem.
“We have buses all over the world, but Ugandans must be proud to be championing a technology that represents clean energy,” said Tickdori, who launched the idea of manufacturing Uganda’s first electronic car, Kiira EV, while still a don at Makerere University.
The Kayoola will be officially launched at the Kampala Serena Hotel Feb. 16. President Yoweri Museveni will be in attendance.
