The transit industry has expressed fears it could miss the 2030 transition to 100 per cent renewable energy, slamming the prime minister’s year-old pledge of a $3 million loan facility to buy green energy buses as more talk than action.
The loan facility, announced by Prime Minister Mia Mottley in last year’s Budget, was intended to enable public service vehicle (PSV) operators to purchase hybrid, natural gas, or electric-powered vehicles as part of the government’s plan to achieve 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
“This money was promised to us since last year in the Budget, and we have not up to now received a cent,” Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Roy Raphael told Barbados TODAY.
Around 25 operators are waiting for permits and access to loans to procure the environmentally friendly vehicles, he said.
“We are stuck with the fact that we are not hearing anything from the government with respect to the $3 million loan that was promised in the Budget last year for the PSV industry.”
The PSV industry leader declared the Mottley administration seemed more focused on procuring 100 buses in an agreement with the Chinese government for the state bus company, the Transport Board, leaving the PSV operators “at square one”.
He appealed to the government to engage in discussions to facilitate the PSV sector’s participation in renewable energy transport.
“I am appealing to government to enter into discussions so these people can get into the electric vehicle project because people are of the view that it is more talk than action. We need to hear from the various ministries,” he insisted.
Raphael said the AOPT had held talks with Minister of Energy Senator Lisa Cummins and was awaiting a promised response. However, he said there were 25 people who were “getting impatient” as they waited to access the loans.
The AOPT leader, whose organisation represents route taxis, mini buses, regular taxis, coaches and hired cars, said the government’s failure to allocate the $3 million to Fund Access, the state-owned small business lender, is discouraging some operators who were interested in transitioning their vehicles to renewable energy.
“I want to send out a special appeal to the government to give the money to Fund Access for us to proceed with the project,” Raphael said. “We spend over $50 million a year on fossil fuel imports. It is a challenge to us each time we have to be constantly looking for this money every year with the cost of maintenance of buses having gone up. The cost of fuel has also gone up.”
Raphael suggested that the current situation presents an opportunity for a pilot project to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles, citing the success of the Transport Board in reducing maintenance and operational costs through the introduction of electric buses.
“The Transport Board itself has a successful story because they are the first people to bring in electric buses. And they have said their maintenance cost and other costs have basically been cut in half…and we want to enjoy that type of luxury as well,” he said.
The AOPT boss cautioned that the patience of the wider sector is also wearing thin and suggested the government needed to turn its words into action sooner rather than later.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
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