The government is working on a policy framework to move public transportation from a dependence on petroleum fuels to electric vehicles, Vice President Bawumia has disclosed

“Where I want to see us go in the next few years is to move public transport completely from dependence on petrol and diesel to fully electric vehicles. That is really where Ghana ought to go. And it is doable. We ought to move away from petrol and diesel to electric vehicles as a matter of policy,” Dr Bawumia stated on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, when he visited the offices and assembly plant of Solar Taxi, a wholly Ghanaian start-up engaged in the assembly and manufacture of electric cars, motorcycles, buses and battery packs for electric cars.

Among the top three Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturing companies in Africa, Solar Taxi, founded in 2019, with a staff strength of 113 (90% of whom are women) and an average age of 26, can also convert petrol or diesel-powered vehicles into electricity powered ones, with the technology to convert cars and buses also available, according to Jorge Appiah, CEO and Co-Founder.

Solar Taxi has assembled over 460 vehicles and sold over 500 vehicles, with orders for vehicles, battery packs and training in the maintenance of EVs coming from all over the continent.

Solar Taxi also operates a ride-hailing service, as well as a motorcycle leasing and vehicle sales model anchored on the Ghana Card. Through its bankers, the company provides financing options for its motorcycles, cars and buses, to be paid for overtime, without collateral. All they require is a Ghanacard ID

Mr Appiah disclosed this while riding in one of the company’s EV buses, which can travel from Accra to Kumasi without the need for a recharge of the batteries, with Vice President Bawumia and the heads of STC, Metro Mass, Aayalolo, as well as officials of the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Road Safety Commission.