And he also spoke about what will be coming to the transport section of his ministry. Ferguson has preached that he wants the bus industry to be reformed, starting with new buses on the road. And while the operators have already begun upgrading their buses, Ferguson said that by the end of this year, there will be a new system for buses over a certain age. He added that electric buses will be making their debut, and will be offering discounted rides to public officers.
Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Youth, Sports, & Transportation
"Bus improvement. They say I own a company named Floralia. I want to tell the nation that because I want to improve a standard, I will be accused of so many things, but I know I have a clear conscience between myself and my God. All I want to see is the bus industry improve and transform. As long as the prime minister allow me to be the Minister of Transportation, that improvement will come to fruition. It's a difficult task because people believe in business as usual and nobody want change where subject to change. The people of this country are crying out for change. So we have a commitment that by December of 2024, all those old buses on the road now will have to be parked and we have a system that Cabinet approves. Anything under 10 years will be premier service. Anything under 20 years, will be for regular runs but you must have a certain standard of bucket seat and air conditions, and anything 25 years and over must be village runs."
"I think you all understand that by the end of the year, there will be a pilot project, not only in Belize City, but likewise on the wester corridor where we will get some pilot buses to run for one year to understand how to operate these electric buses. But in the first stage, Cabinet suggested that those buses on the western corridor should be available to run for public officers on a daily basis. So when those buses start to operate, they will be running to make sure public officers have a nice ride to Belmopan at a reduced cost. If we are going to affect any operators in those pilot runs then we are going to provide them with subsidy to make sure that we can do the pilot for one year to make sure that we can operate electric buses in this country."
