by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. May 15, 2025
On Wednesday, May 14, the Belize City Council (BCC), as part of its Smart City initiative, launched a modern taxi service that features a fleet of electric vehicles and an automated booking/tracking system under the name “eRide”.
“We have a broad vision of driving modern transportation systems within the scope of our city. This again ties in as we continue to build out that ecosystem,” said Bernard Wagner, Mayor of Belize City.
“Last year, we launched the E-buses; and as part of that project, independently of course with the Belize City Council, this project put in place the sort of additional component needed to have us realize our ambition of a greener, cleaner, less polluted [city]… less noise pollution, less emissions in the air,” Wagner further outlined.
The electric taxis are the first of their kind in Belize and are expected to provide a smoother ride to their customers while being environmentally friendly. The electric taxi service, as mentioned by Mayor Wagner, add another dimension to the BCC’s smart vehicle services that started less than a year ago with the introduction of E-buses to the city.
According to Mayor Wagner, the acquisition of the four electric taxis was financed through a $223,000 loan that was secured in 2020, and was paid off in early 2024.
Customers can download a mobile app, MiDriva, on any smartphone to secure a ride on the eTaxi. It is similar to the apps used by Uber or Lyft in many developed countries.
“Well, the service utilizes a sort of technology that mirrors the Uber [or] Lyft that you find in some of the other modern countries, where you use this system to communicate with the driver. You would book your ride. You would pay … it has a cashless payment option, but it also allows you to pay cash if you want … track your driver as he or she progresses towards you, and get in the vehicle and enjoy the clean ride,” Mayor Wagner said.
The average fee for a ride in the eTaxi is $8 for 1.35 kilometers or 0.83 miles.