UWI on board!

The University of the West Indies (UWI) is on board with the Government’s plan to upgrade the public transportation sector and it is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the electric buses before year-end.

Speaking today at the presentation of a wheelchair accessible van by the Maria Holder Memorial Trust to the Cave Hill Campus, Principal Professor Eudine Barriteau said the university has been following the national conversation on public transportation very closely and is offering Government help to get the system right.

Barriteau noted that Cave Hill as a smart campus is making significant strides in preparing the region for the digital revolution and it is offering to lend support to the new national transport initiative in such areas as the geographic placement of charging ports stations, performance over diverse terrains, battery lifespan among others.

Chairman of the Barbados Transport Board Gregory Nicholls said recently that Government had awarded a tender for the provision of electric buses and that the Transport Board was well on the way to having the buses in the country by year-end.

“First of all, we have to sit down and negotiate a contract that is beneficial to the Government and people of Barbados while ensuring that the entity which won the bid is happy with the arrangement as well,” he said.

Barriteau also made a special call for the new electric buses to be specially outfitted for the disabled community.