Wagner Pleads Public for Patience with E-bus Pilot Project

The E-mobility Pilot Project is coming soon to Belize City and City Hall is asking the public to bet patient as they analyze parts of the project that will be best for the country. The new eco-friendly electric buses will be outfitted with several features such as wi-fi and air conditioning, leading to concerns regarding the affordability of the services. Mayor Bernard Wagner says that he anticipates criticism, but assures the public that the council will use the first run to determine how it can be improved with time. Here’s more on that. 

 

Bernard Wagner, Mayor of Belize City

“When change comes, people complain, but you have to embrace change. We want to transform the public transportation system at least in the city  It has been over fifty years that we have not seen any sort of Growth, any sort of development in the transport system. We have an opportunity here, man, and we have to embrace it. Where you are able to have the residents of the city drive in a modern bus, which is efficient, reliable eco-friendly less pollution in the air. You are able to track it via the app that we have in place on it. And it makes life easier. We have many capabilities for wheelchair commuters. It will have Wi Fi, it will be AC. It’s just a pilot project. I continuously to say that it’s a pilot project. It will inform scaling up opportunities for the city when we reach that point. We have not reached that point yet. I don’t see why people are looking way ahead, two, three years ahead. Let the e mobility pilot project work first. Let us get the required data, which will inform scaling up.”

 

Reporter

“But you can see how they were concerned, though, because there was a meeting, and there are minutes of meeting, pointing to some entity. That’s What I took from what was in those meetings because it wasn’t clear, but they’re talking about the formation of an entity of which the City Council would own fifty-one percent and I think that is what maybe they stretched a little to say that they would be required to give up a majority shares.”

 

Bernard Wagner

“That’s far from it. I Just hear that narrative over and over we are doing the pilot project. Let’s focus on the pilot project first. When we reach that road, we will cross that bridge.”