Editorial | Feb 28,2026
The motorcycle leans against a dusty wall on a street in the Qera neighbourhood, its frame a battered cushion for Seleshi Tadesse with a marketing degree. As he chatted with a circle of shoeshine boys and three fellow riders he waits for work.
“Jobs are rare when they come around,” he said, a blunt verdict on a trade that once earned him up to 2,000 Br a day.
The pandemic, a city-wide ban on carrying passengers, and a looming order to switch from petrol engines to electric motors have wiped away most of that income. On a good day, he might manage one or two deliveries, each worth about 400 Br. Worse was the afternoon when police discovered an old spare part on his bike with no receipt. Officers seized the part, detained him overnight, and granted bail only after he paid 6,000 Br.
“My friends always get into trouble repeatedly,” he said, nodding at riders who have endured the same routine.
Motorcycles were once Addis Abeba’s swiftest way of weaving through traffic jams, ferrying commuters to offices and students to schools. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the machines have been repurposed as the city’s go-to couriers, a change that city authorities have not ignored. Qera, the commercial strip that slopes toward Gofa, was crammed with spare-parts dealers whose very survival depends on bikes shuttling between workshops.
But many of those riders now fear they stand at a dead end. City transport officials have given them two years to abandon petrol-powered models and buy electric ones. While the clock is ticking, Seleshi has done the maths and nothing adds up.
“It isn't feasible,” he told Fortune.
He calculated that an e-bike covers no more than 100Km on a charge, barely enough, in his view, for three rounds of bound-to-bound deliveries. Charging stations are scarce, range anxiety is constant, and maintenance costs are formidable. Together, the price of the bike, parts, and upkeep climbs above 350,000 Br.
“I'll stop working and consider changing jobs,” he sighed.
Daniel Mulugeta was a former deliveryman for a company that is no longer in business. Armed with a six-year dream of starting a family, he has seen the same roadblock. Three years ago, he sold his motorcycle when the ban on passenger transport left the business unprofitable. Today, he is on the payroll of a pharmaceutical company, reduced to transferring cheques and running small errands.
“There are days when there is work to be done,” he said, shrugging at the unpredictability.
Before the clampdown, he could ride the 37Km from the capital to Dukem, switching between people and parcels. Now his route rarely leaves the city's ring road.
Hayder Meharedin, general manager of Sheger Motor Bikes Association, painted an even bleaker picture. After the prohibition, he swung from dawn-to-dusk work to stretches of idleness lasting days. The battle now is not securing orders but surviving encounters with police and traffic officers. He delivers spare parts to garages; many arrive without paperwork because “the spare parts are worked on in different places.” That gap has brought him endless arguments over receipts. He once earned about 1,500 Br daily. Some colleagues scrape by on 400 Br.
At the Motorbike Owners Association, General Manager Lamesgen Tarik catalogues the squeeze. Income plummeted when passenger rides were outlawed, yet expenses, including annual GPS renewal fees, association dues, and municipal taxes, continued to climb.
“If the GPS renewal is delayed, there will be a penalty from 300 to 500 Br, and more than 1,000 Br from traffic management,” he said.
Receipts have become a choke point, too. Spare parts bought second-hand or retooled seldom come with documentation, yet police demand proof or impound goods.
“This requirement has negatively impacted those dependent on their bikes,” Lamesgen told Fortune. “The business has been impacted for the past four years.”
Two years ago, the Addis Abeba City Administration Transport Bureau issued a directive that reshaped the sector. All fuel-powered motorcycles have to convert to electric within two years of enactment, and from day one, only electric models will qualify for new transport licences. The regulation was designed to correct an earlier guideline that restricted motorcycle movement to ease traffic, a rule that had backfired, blending economic distress with social fallout.
Under the latest edict, every 12,000 bikes registered in the city will be equipped with GPS tracking and speed-limiting devices that flash red when riders exceed the limits. Drivers are required to don uniforms bearing the association or company insignia. Service types are split. Paid delivery of goods is mounted in storage boxes, and personal transport. Petrol bikes registered under Codes 2, 3, or 4 may be retrofitted if the owners can prove that the original engine has been scrapped.
Many owners want the transition slowed, softened, or subsidised.
According to Abdurezak Hamdu, who heads the Motorcycle Owners Association, representing 531 owners, the change demands government support. He proposed three tracks where they could convert existing engines to electric, embrace hybrids, or replace engines wholesale. He even floated natural gas as an interim fuel.
“It's important to consider our financial status,” he said.
He has lobbied for loans, clarity on disposing of old machines, and better odds of successful conversions. Crime, too, has tarnished the image of bikers, though GPS monitoring now offers a layer of accountability. Old-part deliveries still pose a headache. Digital vendors issue no paper receipts, yet riders face fines without them.
The Addis Abeba Revenue Bureau is tightening the net on such gaps. Its Communications Chief, Sewenet Ayele, disclosed that officials are drafting measures to tax digital shops under new income-tax rules covering online content and trade. Inspectors already sweep brick-and-mortar stores for forged or missing receipts. They are determined to extend that focus to e-commerce. Firms that duck taxes risk penalties of 100,000 Br. Vehicles carrying new goods without valid receipts are subject to the same sanction.
“Trade has to be fair for everyone,” Sewenet argued. “If people aren't paying taxes on digital trades and irregular transactions, the legal taxpayers will be adversely affected.”
A study on taxing digital dealers is underway.
Parallel to the municipal directive, the Ministry of Transport & Logistics has rolled out an e-mobility strategy to steer developments over the next decade. In the document released a few weeks ago, e-motorbikes are “a central pillar” of Ethiopia’s electric-vehicle blueprint, with a target for all new two- and three-wheelers to be fully electric within a decade. National assembly capacity is pegged at roughly 63,900 units annually, part of an 84,000-unit EV manufacturing base. By 2030, the plan calls for 30pc of new EVs to be locally assembled.
The roadmap is lined with carrots, including low-interest loans, point-of-sale rebates, tax breaks, insurance discounts, and scrappage or retrofitting schemes to spark demand. Technical and vocational colleges and universities will offer training, while research on batteries and energy management will expand. The policy pledges that standards will be set for certification, and charging options, such as fixed, mobile, or swapping, will multiply.
Financial lines tailored for fleet operators are promised to “support technicians, enhance uptime, and promote broader market adoption.”
Kedilmagist Ibrahim, an adviser to Transport Minister Alemu Sime (PhD), promised more incentives in pending regulations. One rule on the horizon will compel motorcycles to carry spare batteries. Public institutions, including hotels, are expected to install swapping bays capable of recharging in 25 to 30 minutes. Retrofitting, he said, is “the next frontier” both for cars and bikes. The Ministry plans to retrofit 15pc of all vehicles in Addis within a year.
E-bikes, like other EVs, can import chargers and batteries duty-free.
“Renewable energy users will be rewarded with incentives,” he told Fortune.
Nonetheless, safety is driving policy as the Road Safety & Insurance Fund Service has issued a directive imposing strict rules on motorcycle parcel and passenger services. Every parcel's bike should be bolted to a waterproof metal or plastic box, no bigger than an oversized carry-on suitcase, painted blue to match the bike. Overloading, which involves carrying more than one passenger or exceeding the approved package limit, is prohibited.
The draft directive also makes electronic speed limiters mandatory, ranking them alongside helmets as standard kit.
Drivers will soon need certified training and competency licences, with age thresholds set to keep minors off commercial bikes. Penalties stack by progression, beginning wth notice, fines, temporary suspensions, and permanent revocations for violations ranging from safety breaches to operating without a licence.
Berekti Baheru, who leads the Road Traffic Safety Law Enforcement Desk at the Road Safety & Insurance Fund Service, backs the move as essential for public confidence. She called for a framework “that allows citizens to use motorcycle transport with full confidence in their safety and comfort,” warning that violations, unlicensed riders, loose helmet straps, overloaded bikes, and tilted accidents have increased.
Solomon Adane (Inspector), from the Addis Abeba Police Commission’s Traffic Department, disclosed that motorcycle offences expose riders and pedestrians to high risk. Careless helmet use, especially when straps are not fastened, repeatedly turns crashes fatal.
According to the Addis Abeba Traffic Department, fatalities reached 480 in 2018 before dipping to 401 last year. Injuries totalled 3,666 in 2024, prompting its officials to aspire to halve deaths to 200 and cut injuries by 25pc by 2030. Speed causes 52pc of injuries and 86pc of fatalities. They plan automated speed cameras to fine offenders without human intervention.
The draft requires transport bureaus to form riders into licensed associations, suspend the licenses of criminal operators, and enforce annual inspections and insurance renewals. Owners should keep vehicles within permitted zones, report misconduct, and supply helmets. The Commission responds with awareness drives and stricter checks. Solomon conceded that not every rider is a criminal. Nonetheless, plenty have been tied to mobile-phone theft and other petty crimes.
Some experts doubt the logic of replacing petrol bikes. Berhanu Zeleke, an urban transport lecturer at Kotebe Metropolitan University, argued that motorcycles are among the most fuel-efficient vehicles available. Reducing their numbers might lower traffic costs, but this should be a strategic, transparent, and guided approach, with an exit plan in place. He applauded GPS tracking for boosting accountability yet cautioned against demonising a mode of transportation that keeps thousands employed.
PUBLISHED ON
Nov 08,2025 [ VOL
26 , NO
1332]
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