Tom Courtright is a researcher and consultant on motorcycle taxis and vehicle electrification in East Africa, and a PhD candidate focused on the growth of boda bodas (motorcycle-taxis) in Kampala, Uganda. Tom works alongside boda riders, passengers, and policymakers to bring light to a marginalized sector and advocate for sustainable solutions. He focuses on boda bodas, accessibility and electrification in East Africa and across the continent, with particular interest in reducing local air pollution, reducing operator costs, and improving accessibility outcomes, and has been quoted in The Economist, Rest of World, and Semafor.
Tom is the Research Director at the Africa E-Mobility Alliance. In this capacity, I am working on policy research and advocacy through research and pilot programs with partners including the World Bank, GIZ, UNEP, and others. Scientific publications include Motorcycle taxis in transition? Review of digitalization and electrification trends in selected East African capital cities (2023) and Emissions impacts of electrifying motorcycle taxis in Kampala, Uganda (2022).
Tom was also the lead author of the UNEP report on Global Emerging Market Overview for Electric Two and Three Wheelers, the keystone report on electric two- and three wheelers, and co-author of The Wheels of Change, a leading report on motorcycle-taxis in Africa. Additionally, Tom leads the Lubyanza Research Group, which includes in equal parts motorcycle-taxi drivers and academics, where we have developed the sole public source of quarterly data and insights on the motorcycle taxi sector in Kampala, Uganda. This Quarterly Report is widely distributed to key stakeholders through WhatsApp and utilized by electric mobility companies, ride-hailing companies, asset financiers, and government stakeholders. Previously, Tom worked in the solar industry in Uganda and the Central African Republic for Aptech Africa, an African-owned solar company, and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sabeto, Fiji, where he co-authored the first TatavaSabeto dictionary. Tom is proficient in five languages, including Swahili, French, Spanish, and Fijian, and grew up in Tanzania.Feel free to visit https://www.