And while the e-buses are getting the popular vote in the city, those who commute across districts still have to use the older, often deteriorated buses. While some upgrades have been made, many of the buses still have holes in the ground, such as this bus traveling to Corozal. Some are also not fit to handle the rain, like in this video, where someone had to open an umbrella inside the bus to shelter from the rain.
The Minister of Transport said back in June that the bus companies would have up until the end of this year to upgrade their fleet. But today, the Chief Transport Officer said that that deadline may have to be extended.
Leon Gentle, Chief Transport Officer
"We did do an inspection last week, we are formulating the report and that report will be what helps us to make that decision as to the way forward."
Reporter:
"So there's a possibility that deadline might be extended?"
Leon Gentle, Chief Transport Officer
"There might be a possibility that that might be extended."
Reporter:
"What was maybe some of the points of contention from the bus operators?"
Leon Gentle, Chief Transport Officer
"Primarily the financial aspect of it. As you all know we are trying to get them to transition to an upgraded bus and the issue with that is finance. And so we have been working with them to see how we can move that forward for them."
Reporter:
"But have they been putting in the effort?"
Leon Gentle, Chief Transport Officer
"They have been putting in the effort, that is something that is notable, you will see and I can say that from a standpoint of the registration of new buses and so there has been an increase of that over the last couple of months and we've seen where they have made their efforts in making that."
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