Tourism paradise Barbados is moving away from diesel and fossil fuel-powered buses for the state’s transport system, and the country now has the largest fleet of electric vehicles in the region, said Minister of Transport Santia Bradshaw.

The island’s transport board just received a donated fleet of 30 buses from China. These will work along with 59 buses already in the system, serving regular and disadvantaged areas. Another batch of 35 more is expected in the coming months, further increasing the fleet as these replace the aging diesel-powered ones currently in use.

“Our intention is really to take the diesel buses out of the existing fleet over a period of time. That has always been the stated intention, hence the transition to electric buses. With these buses, what it allows us to do is to bring down our expenditure on the maintenance costs that we are currently outputting in relation to the cost of maintenance of diesel buses as well as fuel costs,” she said at a commissioning ceremony. They are expected to be placed in service at the beginning of May.

China has also donated spare parts and charging equipment to keep the buses running. Talks are ongoing about the 35 more needed to improve the state’s fleet.

“It is our hope and certainly our intention over the next few months to be able to expedite the additional 35 buses coming to the island, as well as being able to put this country in a position where the scheduling of our buses is more relevant to the demands and the changes across the landscape. We want to be able to provide public transportation where people need it most, and, therefore, it requires us to have the fleet in order to expedite that process,” said Ms. Bradshaw, also the deputy prime minister.