And when we asked the Minister of Transport about it, he explained that it's not up to them to choose which operators get the contract. Dr Louis Zabaneh said that project is handled by the UNDP and the BBA would have to speak with them. He spoke to us via telephone.
Dr Louis Zabaneh - Minister of Transport
"That process, took shape and ultimately, Mr. Chuc Westline which line was chosen for the project. Anything with respect to the project itself they need to speak with the UNDP. I would prefer to, interpret it as, them coming into the light to recognize that our future, in terms of the independence of Belize from the vagaries of international world prices for fuel, is along the lines of a transition to electric vehicles."
"I would also like to add that the presentation yesterday by the UNDP. T he project funded by the EU, was an excellent presentation. They shared all the data that was gathered from the pilot, up to this point. And I think that, any operator, who, would like to transition can use that kind of information, to do so. You don't have to go through a pilot. The idea of the pilot is really to gather the data so that other operators who were not necessarily in the pilot could benefit from that"
Reporter
"In that way. Do you feel like they're trying to just pick a fight or using this as an excuse? Because there are many bus operators within the National Bus Company as well, who were not selected to do this project."
Dr Louis Zabaneh - Minister of Transport
"And many of them don't have electric busses, but they're saying, you know, we can't invest in this thing unless we use it ourselves. That doesn't really seem very fair. Well, yeah, I think it's, in a sense, trying to, have your cake and eat it, too, as we would say. But, I, I'm always an optimist, and I, I'm encouraging them to look at the data that's already there and know if you are serious."
"Anybody serious about any of the operators on the members of the BBA who are not in the National bus company and they have said they want to be independent then, now they have data free of costs. That could guide them on how to move forward, if they wish to make an investment in electric busses."
Zabaneh added that he has already informed Jones about this.
