Government ponders e-mobility rules to cut emissions

Dar es Salaam. The government is mulling coming up with a regulations to govern the operations of electromobility (e-mobility) in a deliberate attempt to formalize the sub-sector and reduce environmental pollution in the ecosystem.

Electromobility is the use of electric cars, e-bikes or pedelecs, electric motorbikes, e-buses and e-trucks.

Though several electromobility products are already available in a number of locations in major towns in the country, they cannot be registered due to lack of regulations to formalise the transport products. But a transport officer from the Ministry of Works and Transport, Mr William Gomera said yesterday that the government was currently in the process of enacting regulations that would entice more people to switch to e-mobility.

“In the past, fuel-powered modes of transport was more dominant that is why we do not have regulations for e-mobility. But now there are a number of e-bicycle and electric three wheelers [e-bajaji],”he said.

Mr Gomera made the remarks at the first African e-mobility forum, when he was addressing stakeholders’ concerns about registration and insurance that were cited as part of setbacks that hinder e-mobility in the country.

Organised by the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI) in collaboration with the Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit Agency (Dart), the forum brought delegates from 17 African countries. Dart has partnered with UEMI, under a project called solutionplus, which aims to boost sustainable electrification of transport in large urban areas in emerging economies.

An advisor with eMo Mobility Company Limited, Mr John Morro said that since they started e-mobility business, the number of people who bring in ‘e-bajajis’ and e-motorcycles has been on the rise. He however noted that some were still reluctant to import e-vehicles due to the fact that there was no law in place that would ensure that such products are registered and thus be given insurance services.

“The government should enact a law so that the e-mobility transport products can be out in the system and registered,” he said, adding that e-mobility has a lot of benefits, including their cost-effective nature and reducing noise pollution.

Dart chief executive Dr Edwin Mhede said that the government plans to develop a National Electric Mobility Strategy that aims to increase the use of electric vehicles in the country. The strategy, he said, will promote the use of electric vehicles in public transportation and encourage the development of charging infrastructure.

“As we all know, transportation is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions hence the need to embark on such options,” he said.

He said that as of 2014, the Tanzanian transport sector contributed approximately 57.6 percent of the country’s total carbon emissions.

He said that was why there was an urgent need to transition to low carbon mobility options to mitigate the impact of climate change. “To effectively address this, Tanzania plans to cut carbon emissions by 30-35 per cent by 2030,” he said.