Government Pledges $20.9M in Electric Buses to National Bus Company

The Government is changing what it will contribute to the National Bus Company. Instead of putting bus terminals into the company as its investment, Government now plans to provide approximately twenty-point-nine million dollars’ worth of electric buses and charging equipment.  The decision was announced by Cabinet yesterday. Transport Minister Dr. Louis Zabaneh must now take a revised proposal back to Cabinet to reflect the change and show that the other shareholders in the National Bus Company have agreed. Under the new proposal, the terminals would remain government property and be leased to the NBC under a long-term agreement.  The announcement, however, has raised questions about where the twenty-point-nine million dollars will come from.  When the National Bus Company was being established, the Government said it was not paying millions of dollars to buy out private bus operators. Instead, seventeen participating operators became shareholders in the new company. At the time, a few months ago, Minister Zabaneh also said Government’s contribution consisted mainly of the work done to establish the company and the bus terminals that would become part of it.

So far, Cabinet has not said whether the money will come directly from taxpayers, through a loan or from another source. It is also unclear whether the change will affect the number of shares Government owns in the NBC or how much the company will pay to lease the terminals.  In May, Cabinet allowed the Ministries of Transportation and Finance to begin looking for financing to purchase electric buses. Minister Zabaneh said the Government was considering a fifteen-year loan, with the NBC expected to repay that loan from its own income. At the time, however, he said the financing arrangement had not been finalized.

The electric buses are part of the Government’s plan to provide safer, cleaner and more reliable public transportation. The NBC has already installed technology to track its buses and monitor drivers, and it plans to introduce electronic ticketing.  The company has also faced several early challenges. Concerns have been raised about the condition of some buses, shortages within the fleet and reports of buses breaking down. The NBC also began searching for a new chief executive after Susana Vanzie stepped down only months after the company started operating.  Importantly, the law that is expected to formally govern and protect the National Bus Company has still not been taken to the House of Representatives or passed by the National Assembly. This means the NBC is already operating, but its special legal framework is not yet in place.  The Government will therefore be expected to explain how the twenty-point-nine-million-dollar contribution will be financed, what taxpayers will receive in return, how the terminal leases will work and when the supporting legislation will be presented to the National Assembly.