Lower thirds:

00:01 Report by / Felix Maringa
00:13 James Owino / Petrol motorbike rider
00:24 Boniface Mutunga / Petrol motorbike rider
00:45 Felix Maringa / DW Correspondent, Nairobi
01:02 Dennis Matheka / E-bike rider
01:15 Collins Mutunga / E-bike rider
02:10 Raymond Kitunga / Deputy Country Head, Spiro Kenya

Script:
 
Fuel prices have shot up in Nairobi, The motorcycle taxi riders, or boda bodas, are among the many that are feeling the pinch... and paying the price. 

00:12 
+++ SOT 2: James Owino – Petrol Bike Rider (Swahili)+++
"We will just be incurring losses because there are customers who will not adjust with the new fuel costs, its either you charge them based on their previous fares since they won’t be willing to add money to their fares." 

00:24 
+++ SOT 1: Boniface Mutunga – Petrol Bike Rider (Swahili) +++
"Fuel prices should be checked not to go up, because fuel runs the whole economy, so when the fuel prices go up, business will come to a standstill and people will suffer the consequences." 

00:36 
But this is not happening to everyone. In a city short on fuel, a growing number of riders are finding alternatives..... 

00:44 
+++ PTC: Felix Maringa, DW Correspondent +++
"Electric Motorised units have continued running unaffected despite the surge in fuel prices and dry pumps, this does not make the riders immune to the world’s problems but in one critical way they are no longer directly exposed to the fuel shocks."

01:01 
+++ SOT 3: Dennis Matheka, Electric Bike Rider (Swahili) +++
"As an electric bike rider, I won’t be affected. I will still be at work like everyone else running an electric bike so am at an advantage because my work doesn’t stop."

01:14 
+++ SOT: Collins Mutunga, E-bike rider (Swahili) +++
Electric bikes are more efficient as compared to the petrol bikes because the costs, the fuel prices are going up, when you compare the distance covered by the battery versus the fuel cost, the prices are still not the same, the battery is still cheaper than the fuel price."

01:36 
What began as an experiment is fast becoming everyday transport. Maintenance is simpler, running costs are lower, and adoption is rising fast. Last year, the market share more than doubled. In 2025, electric motorbikes accounted for more than 15 percent of new registrations in Kenya. And it’s a local ecosystem driving the change, African‑made electric bikes, built for African roads. Spiro is the continent’s largest e‑bike company - here the fuel crisis is translating into a rapidly expanding business. 

02:10 
+++ SOT: Raymond Kitunga, Deputy Country Head Spiro Kenya (English) +++
"Since the start of the war and everybody knows that war is not good for mankind we have seen both in terms of enquiries in terms of the potential and actual conversion of people more and more people now making enquiries then in terms of the projection I am seeing an even higher number close to even 40% increase in terms of our sales through the situation being there."

02:41 
On Nairobi’s roads, a quiet switch is being flipped. Charging networks are growing, but not fast enough. Electric bikes still cost more upfront, and investment is needed. For many of Nairobi’s boda boda riders, there is no doubt. The future is electric, and just getting started. 

END