Transportation Minister Kye Rymer said the service aims to achieve several objectives such as alleviating parking lot congestion, reducing traffic congestion and reducing the use of fossil fuels that cause harmful emissions into the environment.

He said this will reduce the carbon footprint of the Virgin Islands.

“We hope to reduce parking on road which causes traffic obstruction, pedestrianising the city and improving mobility within the city limits,” Rymer said.

“This initiative has not been an overnight accomplishment. Since my tenure as minister, we have conducted extensive research, evaluations and analysis to provide the residents and visitors with reliable public transportation,” the minster added.

Rymer noted the launch of the service is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg in a grander initiative to improve mobility in the Virgin Islands and access traffic and congestion in Road Town.

“In the summer of 2019, we did a survey which had a response of over 2000 people, a resounding 83 percent expressed that having a bus service is very important and they would utilize it. That survey also revealed that more females are likely to use that service. This survey corroborated the need to implement public transportation in the Virgin Island,” Rymer said.

Minister of Social Development Carvin Malone said the launch of the Park and Ride initiative is an indication that groundwork is being done and there is progress for the people despite all the challenges the territory has faced over the last two years.

“As we come here to commission the electric shuttles, I would like to say congratulations. I looked at the vehicles purchased, and I see the studies being done I have witnessed the vans being used and I agree it is a needed service. It’s not everyone who have the access to vehicles. Not everyone would love to congest and park and get a ticket.” Malone said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly Neville Smith said it is important that a programme be implemented to maintain the vehicles involved in the initiative.

“One of the things I want to say is that in the BVI, we always spend money and put on a lot of things and do not maintain them. These vehicles need to be maintained so we could come up with a maintenance program for these vehicles,” Smith said.

“We cannot continue spending the funding that we have without maintaining them. It is just like our buildings; we cannot build without maintaining them. So, I’m encouraging whoever will oversee these vehicles after it is handover to come up with a schedule so these can be always maintained,” the Deputy Speaker said.

Premier Andrew Fahie also encouraged more people to look towards greener energy to reduce the environmental impact of fossil fuels. He noted that looking towards more renewable energy will benefit the economy more.

Fahie further said the territory pays millions of dollars annually for fossil fuel as it is imported. To that end, he added the electric shuttles will help greatly in combating carbon emission in Road Town.

The shuttle service will operate in Road Town and will leave from more than 20 different locations in the city. The buses will operate Mondays to Fridays from 7 am to 6 pm and it departs from the starting points every 15 minutes.