President William Ruto, on Tuesday, settled on Nakuru and Nairobi counties as pioneer regions for electric bike rollouts scheduled for September 1.
The head of state made the announcement during a rally in Bahati, Nakuru, after launching affordable houses.
He assured that the date for the rollout remained unchanged as he was keen on fulfilling his key promise of lowering the cost of living, fares, and the price of fuel.
He also clarified that the introduction of electric bikes would decrease business costs, particularly benefitting the youth in the boda industry.
Ruto further praised the initiative reaffirming that it would aid the nation in addressing climate change once fully e-mobility is fully embraced.
The rollout will happen three days before Ruto hosts over 17 presidents and over 20,000 delegates for the Africa Climate Summit 2023 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
The inaugural summit aims to address the increasing exposure to climate change and its associated costs, both globally and particularly in Africa.
It will also serve as a platform to inform, frame, and influence commitments, pledges, and outcomes, ultimately leading to the development of the Nairobi Declaration on climate change.
Last month, Ruto revealed that Kenya will produce at least 200,000 electric bikes by the end of 2024, a nearly 100 times increase from the current 2,000.
"We have agreed with some companies and that is why we have reduced five different taxes," Ruto stated.
He emphasised that the reduction of these taxes would bring down the cost of production and market price.
Through the Finance Act, Ruto promised to remove the 16 Value Added Tax (VAT) on electric motorcycles and reduce VAT on spare parts, batteries, and other materials used in their production.
"We have policy interventions in our Finance Act specifically e-mobility and our boda boda people because they contribute about Ksh1 billion daily," Ruto assured.
He added that charging areas will be set up across the country where the riders can only use Ksh60 for charging and operating for a day.
