Belize City electric bus program reaches 384,000 rides in two years with lower costs and less carbon

Belize City's e-Ride electric bus program has logged nearly 384,000 passenger rides since launching in July 2024, according to the city council. The service started with two buses and now sees record daily ridership. Operating costs are lower than diesel buses, and the program has avoided hundreds of tons of carbon emissions. Senior citizens pay a subsidized one-dollar fare, with over 100,000 rides taken by that group. Mayor Bernard Wagner says a performance report by UNDP e-mobility expert Dr. Curtis Voodoo confirms the pricing structure works. General riders pay three dollars, which helps subsidize the one-dollar senior fare and two-dollar student fare. The city says the program has exceeded expectations and is financially sustainable. The article does not specify how many buses are now in service or the exact tonnage of emissions avoided. It also does not detail how the buses are charged or what the grid capacity looks like in Belize City. Those details would help assess how scalable this model is for other cities in the region.