Belize City’s Electric Bus Revolution Gains Momentum

Two years ago, there was plenty of skepticism when Belize City rolled out its first electric buses. Today, the Belize City Council says the e-Ride program has become one of the city’s most successful transportation initiatives. Since launching on July twenty-second, 2024, with just two buses, the service has logged nearly three hundred and eighty-four thousand passenger rides, including one hundred thousand trips by senior citizens using the subsidized one-dollar fare. Council officials say ridership is still climbing, with record-breaking daily numbers, lower operating costs and hundreds of tons of carbon emissions avoided. As the city celebrates the program’s second anniversary, Mayor Bernard Wagner says the investment has exceeded expectations and is already paying dividends for commuters and the environment.

 

Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor

“It’s a great opportunity to really look back at how this project has been a game changer in the city. Just this morning I was given the real updated figures. I know that our council page had said that there were, like, 370,000 rides documented up – but that was up to ending of June, right? Those figures are really 384,000 rides since we started this program, with one hundred thousand of those rides being to our senior citizens and our golden citizen. We really appreciate the golden citizen. And also having the ability to serve our students, right? And one of the good thing coming out of this report which is a full report of the performance of the buses shows that our pricing structure, which is three dollars for the general ride, one dollar for senior citizens and two dollars for students. It shows that pricing structure really subsidized the VIP. The general people that pay three dollars subsidize the senior and the students.”

 

Shane Williams

“Is it a profitable venture for the city? How is it accounted for?”

 

Bernard Wagner

“Of course. Yeah, this report was conducted by Dr. Curtis Voodoo, right? He was the e-mobility expert by the UNDP and it speaks to really comparing E-mobility with the ICE vehicles. And in this report it really clearly shows that some of the executive insights, it shows that like forty-one percent lower in costs, right?”

 

According to a feasibility study commissioned by the United Nations Development Program, the carbon efficiency of Belize City’s two e-buses is the equivalent of taking ninety vehicles off the road per year.  

 

E-Ride Success Fuels Expansion Plans for Belize City

 

Mayor Bernard Wagner says public response has been overwhelmingly positive, especially among students, women, and senior citizens. In fact, the service has been so profitable that the council is already planning an expansion of the network and is working to acquire three additional electric buses.

 

Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor

“It’s a good thing for you to look at and see how they have embraced this project – for the residents in the city speak so well of this project. We have a young child, our youngest – a young student Emory. And he is so in love with this bus. He actually got a book written on the e-bus. And so seeing this project, how it has positively impact our children, our women, and our most vulnerable golden citizens in our society is enough for me.”

 

Shane Williams

“What’s the plan for expansion?”

 

Bernard Wagner

“Yeah, of course we need to really look at how we are expanding. There are demands for additional bus. We are already working out the areas in that. We are looking at the Central American Boulevard. We are looking at really connecting the Jane Ussher the Yabra, the Pen Road, Fabers Road and some of the Belama Phase four and five areas as well. But we have been working in respect to acquiring three additional buses. I don’t want to give the time because when you’re dealing with electric bus it takes a while to reach them. But hopefully I will be having those before I demit office.”

 

While the e-buses currently being used by the Belize City Council were provided through a program funded by the European Union, the council will purchases additional buses using the proceeds from its e-ride service.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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