Bus availability to improve with new fleet of electric buses

The deployment of thirty-three brand new electric buses, along with the fifty-nine units operating in the Transport Augmentation Programme and the current diesel fleet, will significantly increase bus availa-bility and ease the difficulties that commuters currently face in obtaining transport, on a daily basis.

Minister of Transport, Works and Water Resources, Ian Gooding Edghill pointed out the above, as he spoke yesterday during a ceremony for the handover of the new fleet of electric buses, which was held at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex yesterday.

The buses arrived in Barbados on July 8th, 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, were removed from the Barbados Port on July 10th, were inspected, weighed and licensed over the next few days and they will now become operational, for members of the travelling public.

Minister Ian Gooding Edghill meanwhile acknowledged the need to “go green”, while working to improve bus availability and alleviate a number of transportation issues in Barbados.

“With the enunciation of the Barbados National Energy Policy and Government’s commitment to achieving sustainable energy by 2030, it was evident that the government of Barbados was committed to creating a clean environment, which will enhance the health of its citizens, through the utilisation of renewable every as the alternative to fossil fuels,” Gooding Edghill indicated.

“As part of that commitment, the Cabinet of Barbados mandated the purchase of a number of electric sbuses, to augment the ageing rolling fleet of the Transport Board. The decision was grounded in the fact that it had become apparent that even with an aggressive repair and maintenance programme, the challenge of not having purchased any buses since 2006, some 14 year ago, had drastically reduced the available rolling fleet,” he said.

“This occurrence created an untenable situation, whereby the travelling public and in particular, pensioners and school children, found it difficult to travel to their respective destinations. The untenable situation also had far reaching consequences for productivity in the economy and by extension the economic landscape of the island,” the Transport Minister further remarked.

Significant costs savings anticipated

Gooding Edghill meanwhile stressed that significant cost savings are now anticipated with the rolling out of the new fleet.

“Certainly, we anticipate that we will also see significant savings in fuel costs and maintenance costs, coupled with a reduction in carbon emissions, as the electric buses do not carry as many moving parts and are fumes free. It should be noted that based on information provided by the Transport Board, had the Government purchased thirty-three diesel buses instead of electric buses, the fuel cost to operate the diesel units would be $264,000 per month or $3.16 million per year,” he said.

Noting that as the Government of Barbados authorised the Transport Board to procure a fleet of electric buses, it also provided forty-five million dollars for the purchase of those buses, inclusive of funds to ensure that all necessary infrastructure was put in place for a smooth roll out, Gooding Edghill acknowledged the work of the high tech company Build Your Dreams (BYD) Panama, the successful tenderer in the exercise and all those involved in bringing the project to fruition, including former Transport Minister, Dr. William Duguid, who now serves as Minister of Housing, Lands and Maintenance.