Boda bodas move a large share of Kenya's people and parcels, and fuel is the biggest daily cost for most riders. Electric motorcycles promise to cut that cost sharply. The fair comparison is cost per kilometre, because that is how a rider earns, and it has to include the battery, which wears out with use.
The petrol side
A typical 125 to 150 cc boda boda covers about 40 km on a litre of petrol. At KES 226.96 a litre, EPRA's maximum Nairobi pump price for 15 October to 14 November 2026:
A rider doing 120 km a day spends about KES 680 a day on fuel.
The electric side
An electric motorcycle uses about 4 kWh per 100 km on the road. Allowing about 10% lost in the charger and battery, it needs about 0.044 kWh from the socket per km. What that costs depends on where the energy comes from. All-in rates include the fuel cost charge, levies and VAT:
| Where it is charged | All-in rate per kWh | Energy cost per km | Energy cost for 120 km |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home socket, domestic DC2 | KES 28.30 | KES 1.25 | KES 149 |
| E-mobility tariff, daytime | KES 25.19 | KES 1.11 | KES 133 |
| E-mobility tariff, night (22:00 to 06:00) | KES 15.51 | KES 0.68 | KES 82 |
| Solar at the stage or depot (about KES 3.50 per kWh over its life) | about KES 3.50 | about KES 0.15 | about KES 18 |
Charging station operators can buy power on a flat KPLC e-mobility station rate, about KES 26.40 per kWh all-in. Riders pay the operator's own price, which adds the cost of the station and a margin, so compare the price per kWh or per swap you are actually offered with these figures.
The battery is part of the cost per km
An electric motorcycle's battery loses capacity with every charge cycle and eventually needs replacing. Spread its price over the kilometres it will deliver:
For example, a battery priced at KES 150,000, rated for 2,000 cycles and giving 80 km per charge delivers about 160,000 km, which adds about KES 0.94 per km. Use the real price, cycle rating and range from the seller; this is where cheap and good batteries differ most.
Putting it together
| Petrol | Electric, home charging | Electric, e-mobility night | Electric, solar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy per km | KES 5.70 | KES 1.25 | KES 0.68 | KES 0.15 |
| Battery wear per km (example) | none | KES 0.94 | KES 0.94 | KES 0.94 |
| Total per km | KES 5.70 | about KES 2.20 | about KES 1.60 | about KES 1.10 |
| Daily cost at 120 km | about KES 680 | about KES 260 | about KES 195 | about KES 130 |
Even after allowing for the battery, an electric boda costs less than half as much per kilometre as petrol on home charging, and about a fifth on solar. Over 26 working days a month, the home-charging rider keeps about KES 10,900 more a month than on petrol. Electric motorcycles also have far fewer parts to service: no oil changes, spark plugs or clutch plates.
Swapping or charging?
Battery swapping avoids waiting and means the rider never owns the battery, so its wear is built into the swap price. Owning and charging is usually cheaper per km, but the rider must charge for several hours and carries the battery replacement cost. To compare, turn a swap subscription into a cost per km (monthly price ÷ km ridden) and set it against the "total per km" row above.
Where solar fits
Solar is cheapest where motorcycles charge during the day: at a stage, a swap station or a fleet depot. A swap station can charge spare batteries from solar while riders are on the road. For the sizing, see how much solar it takes to charge an EV: a rider covering 120 km a day needs about 1.4 kW of panels.
Plan a charging site
- The free solar calculator adds electric motorcycles to a home, stage or depot load and shows the panels needed.
- EV charging infrastructure covers depot and swap station planning for fleets.
- See what a KPLC unit really costs and time-of-use load shifting for the tariff details used here.