Good morning members of the media, and thank you for coming.
Today marks a huge step forward to steering Bermuda toward a cleaner, more resilient future.
The electrification of the public bus fleet represents a transformational change that will go a long way in developing an environmentally friendly and sustainable future for Bermuda.
The new buses are appropriately sized for our roads with low floors and kneeling suspension for ease of access. We know that these buses will significantly reduce cost by 50% as compared to our existing diesel buses. In addition, the electric buses will improve air quality and even eliminate roadside emissions associated with diesel buses.
With this delivery, Bermuda is now one of the leaders in the Caribbean’s transition to electric public transportation.
The additional 20 buses will arrive in two shipments on 28 March and 4 April 2022. Over the coming weeks the buses will be licensed and outfitted with equipment in preparation for service. Representatives from the manufacturer, Golden Dragon Bus Company will be onthe island for three months, from March through May 2022, to support the commissioning of the buses and staff training. The new buses will enter into service between March and April 2022.
I take this opportunity to acknowledge previous Transport Ministers, Roban, DeSilva and Tyrrell who initiated and progressed this initiative. I would also like to thank the Director of the Department of Public Transportation, Roger Todd and the entire management and staff. Special thanks to the electric bus project team, including Adrian Dill from the Department of Energy and Chris Bulley from the Department of Planning. The Ministry also extends our thanks to EJ Klock McCook and the team at RMI that served as technical advisors, analysis and research partners throughout the three-year development process of our bus electrification project.
In the coming months, we will hold additional events and opportunities to celebrate going greener through the electrification of our public bus service.
I invite the media to join the DPT Director to get a first-hand look at the buses.