By Sipho Tshabalala
 
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, MEC Kedibone Diale-Tlabela and other dignitaries were on hand to witness the unveiling of South Africa's first electric minibus taxi, the eKamva, at the 2024 Smarter Mobility Africa (SMA) summit held in Midrand, Johannesburg.
 
The SMA, now in its sixth year, brings together industry experts from across the world, gather policy makers and cities from across Africa. It provides a platform for innovators to showcase their solutions and ideas to organisations searching for mobility solutions. Unveiled as a fifteen-seater taxi, eKamva was introduced as providing up to seventy lower monthly costs and having a range of more than 200km per charge, reaching eighty percent in under an hour. 
 
The consortium led by flx EV and consisting of GoMetro, Powerfleet (formerly MiX Telematics), HSW, ACDC Dynamics and entities within Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Engineering, undertook extensive testing in and around Stellenbosch (Western Cape) on existing taxi routes, using traditional minibus taxis. Minibus taxis carry millions of commuters in South Africa daily, contributing tonnes of carbon dioxide and consume two billion tonnes of fuel a year.
 
In her address to the summit, Minister Creecy had emphasised the need to decarbonise fleets, with these contributing considerably to carbon emissions. Electric vehicles are seen as a solution to globally decarbonise the transport sector. Developments of low-carbon transport solutions are also part of a global agenda to reduce environmental impact, delay climate change and relates to many of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.