SOUTH Africa’s minibus-taxi industry is a key part of the country’s economy, providing affordable, accessible mass transport. At the same time, the taxi fleet uses carbon-emitting internal combustion engines. Reducing South Africa’s environmental impact must consider the electrification of the minibus-taxi sector.
However, this is a complex process, and electrification will introduce many challenges. A paper to be presented at the forthcoming Southern African Transport Conference (SATC) outlines some key considerations.
The conference addresses the theme, ”Upskilling and reskilling the transport industry for current and future challenges”. The analysis of prospects for an electrified taxi industry underscores the importance of electric-vehicle upskilling in the Southern African transport sector.
South Africa’s minibus taxi industry is the main mode of transport for approximately 10,7-million citizens.
Environmental impacts
In 2022, 14% of all new cars sold worldwide were electric vehicles (EVs), while in South Africa only 0,1% of vehicles sold in the same period were electric.
Currently, Eskom provides the bulk of the country’s energy, with 79% coming from coal-fired power stations.
With South Africa lagging in terms of electric vehicle adoption, the paper’s authors, A Jahura, MJWA Vanderschuren and MJ Booysen, write that “stronger efforts are required to ensure the country’s automotive industry transitions to electric mobility”.
They say that, considering the importance of minibus taxis to South African paratransit, our EV transition must prioritise minibus taxi electrification.
Mobility operations
Currently, minibus taxi travel is loosely scheduled and timetabled. Taxis with licences for specific routes aim to complete trips at particular parts of the day, with day-to-day operations dependent on passenger demand.
There is flexibility, and drivers pick up or drop off passengers at sub-destinations depending on their needs.
However, for electric vehicles, where ranges and charging locations are limited, more formal schedules and timetables will likely be required.
The paper suggests that taxi owners and associations work with government, and technical experts, to decide how taxis will balance charging schedules with daily trip planning.
Charging operations
As of September 2023, there were more than 2 200 registered electric vehicles and approximately 435 total charging stations in South Africa, with these numbers growing steadily. To accommodate the country’s entire network of minibus taxis, a significantly greater number of stations would be required.
However, building a charging network for the minibus taxi industry would almost certainly be out of reach for private enterprise alone.
Cost impact
There are significant cost differences between the petrol minibus taxis currently used and their equivalent electric counterparts.
“South Africa’s minibus taxi industry must investigate options for producing electric taxis locally to minimise capital costs,” the authors write.
Range factors
Battery capacity and the associated range achievable on a single charge have been some of the key limitations of electric vehicles.
Optimal operational planning will be required to maximise the number of trips electric minibus taxis can complete without recharging, while integrated battery swopping can be used to enhance efficiency at charging stations.
Even optimistically assuming a taxi would have a 100kWh battery, this implies only 200km of range. Current ICE taxis have a range of 500km+ on a full tank. This highlights the need to ensure ranges are maximised through efficient driving.
The authors recommend that further research be conducted into the social aspects of electrifying the minibus taxi industry, and note that regulation will affect its success.
