E-Bus Pilot Yields Over $33K for Belize City Council in Five Weeks

For the period, July 22 to August 25, the Belize City Council has collected over thirty three thousand dollars from the two E-buses in Belize City.  Love News learnt that of the 14,603 bus fares paid over the past five weeks, 18 percent were golden citizens, 17 percent were students and 65 percent were regular commuters.  Mayor Bernard Wagner has expressed excitement at the results of the past five weeks, saying that with this data collected during the pilot phase, the council would be able to access funding to add to the fleet.  He noted that the council is expecting a surge in numbers as we enter the back to school season and that there has been a call for more e-bus runs in the city.

Bernard Wagner, Mayor of Belize City: “Clearly, there has been this great embrace of this new technology, this e-transit by the general public in Belize City. People want more convenience, they want to drive in comfort, they want accessibility and they want all other amenities that a modern bus transportation system should provide. It’s noting new. We have to be able to embrace innovation and technology or else we’ll be left in a time warp. By 2030 the United States has indicated that most of their vehicle fleet will be electric. By 2050, total electric. We can’t be in Belize City sitting here with Mexico and America being our big trading partners and sit here in a time warp with these all dilapidated, air polluted mode transportation.”

As the Belize City Council continues to monitor the reception of the e-buses as well as the current and potential revenue, Mayor Wagner says it is important that businesses evolve with technology.

Bernard Wagner, Mayor of Belize City: “We have to embrace change, right? And understand that if you are not willing to embrace change, you’ll be left behind. I could remember in the cassette business at Record Shack. Record Shack and the cassette business was the biggest game in town, along with Venus and all the other cassettes. Then came along CDs. And then came along Flash Drive and eventually cassettes, CDs, DVDs went underground. There was no response and so now people are accessing music through different channels. The DJ system, ask the DJs now, they used to use the 45 RPM, the 33 RPM now it’s a computer. That is good that has evolved. Blockbuster again couldn’t adapt to change and so Netflix came in and threw them out the door. So as human beings we have to always try to evolve. Our current system in Belize where we have these old dilapidated buses has been in this game for 50 plus years. 50 plus years, you know, from I was a child. Behind Penn Road I remember the bus man used to be Mr. Jenkins drive the old bus up Penn Road. In those times you couldn’t go around so the bus had to swing and come back down Penn Road so that in a nutshell what I’m saying is that, we, I don’t think there is any turning back. The Belizean people, the Belize City people, demand that we continue on this course of transformation in the transportation industry.”

The fares for the e-bus are one dollar for golden citizens; two dollars for primary, secondary and tertiary students and ordinary commuters – three dollars, and children under five ride for free.