The drive to introduce electric and hybrid minibuses and route taxis has hit a speed bump, the operators’ spokesman said Wednesday.Days after launching a project to transition public service vehicles (PSVs) from fossil fuels to renewable energy, a lack of government funding has forced its suspension, Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Roy Raphael has told Barbados TODAY.Funds earmarked by the Mia Mottley administration for the transition almost a year ago have not been released, he said.“Since the government would have made available through the budgetary proposals last year, $3 million to the transport sector as an energy loan through Fund Access, to this day we have not been given a cent,” he said.“We have 25 persons who are ready, willing and able to transition their vehicles to renewable energy. Two weeks ago, we launched our Transport Energy Project, but because of the fact that we are unable to access the loan, it will place the project on hold.”The AOPT leader explained that the money appeared not to have been transferred from the Ministry of Finance to Fund Access as yet.
