Bus owners call out UNDP for going against its mission with a pilot project for electric busses

By Benjamin Flowers: The Belize Bus Owners Association (BBOA) is calling on the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), for its intervention in the transport industry which the bus owners say will cause a loss in revenue for the established transport industry stakeholders.

A leaked memo circulating today shows the BBOA writing to the President’s Representative of the UNDP in Belize, regarding a pilot project being done in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and the Belize City Council, to facilitate the importation of electric buses in Belize.

“We write to point out that the execution of the proposed pilot project is not aligned with the UNDP’s mission cited below: UNDP Mission – ‘UNDP works in more than 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty and the reduction of the inequalities and exclusion. We help countries develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, Institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results,” the BBOA said.

The bus owners stressed that, as the key stakeholders in the transport sector, they were never invited to participate in discussions regarding the pilot project, and that each electric bus could put at least three other established bus runs out of business. The association maintains that it believes electric or even hydrogen-powered buses are the future of public transportation, but that Belize, like many other countries, is not prepared for this reality.

The letter concludes by saying that the bus owners are looking forward to a meeting with the UNDP to discuss the project.

Breaking Belize News spoke with BBOA President Thomas Shaw, who declined comment on the issue while they await an official response regarding the letter from the UNDP.

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