Delayed but Not Derailed: Electric Buses Still Coming

Government’s plan to introduce electric buses into Belize’s public transportation system has hit a delay. The first fleet was expected to hit the road this month, but changes to the grant allocation delayed the project. Still, Transport Minister Dr. Louis Zabaneh says the initiative remains on track, with a tender about to be issued for the first ten electric buses. He says government is aiming to replace the entire seventy-five bus fleet by the end of next year and will soon provide a detailed update on the National Bus Company and its modernization plans.

 

On the phone: Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Transport

“We are fortunate to have a grant arrangement from our friends from Taiwan in which we are about to do the tender for the first ten buses. There was a delay because as been reported, the government decided to swap terminals as the investment in NBC with buses. And so now that process has started again, and we expect to get back on our schedule to have all of our buses, 75 buses, electric buses, by the end of next year, replacing the entire old fleet that we inherited under NBC. We are planning I believe it’s October fifth to have a press conference in which we will be giving fine details on the progress of the National Bus Company; including the work we’re doing to modernize the sector, the legislative environment the financial environment, et cetera.”

 

With Belize already struggling to meet its energy demands, the National Bus Company says its fleet will run primarily on solar energy, with the BEL grid being only a backup power source.

 

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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