A fleet of electric or solar-powered cars could be on Bermuda's roads soon if an initiative by Government is supported by business, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

Government has set up an environmental sub-committee to look at clean fuel and transportation, including solar and electric cars.

As The Royal Gazette revealed yesterday, Shell is trying to persuade Government to convert the Island's buses to propane gas to eliminate diesel exhaust emissions.

The committee, part of the National Transportation Management Plan which includes the Ministries of Transport, Environment and Works and Engineering, is also looking at electric cars.

But one problem has been that manufacturers are reluctant to sell them to places with no back-up support facilities to deal with problems if they break down.

Government environment engineer Tom Sleeter said one way to tempt one of the big manufacturers to supply the Island with electric cars would be if the private sector joined in to buy a fleet.

Last year Government imported an electric car like a golf buggy to see if it would be suitable for hiring out to tourists.

The plan was scrapped because it would create even more congestion on the roads.

But Dr. Sleeter said yesterday: "The Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Transport are still pursuing electric vehicles.

"There are real problems with trying to purchase new state of the art electric vehicles. Manufacturers are not interested in letting half a dozen go to remote areas without the infrastructure and support.

"They want to get a good name for their vehicles when they go out into the public arena.

"We've a real interest in getting electric vehicles in place, but it would have to be a fleet, a Government fleet or a combination of Government and private fleet.

"At the end of the day, they would need to be taken to an area centrally maintained and plugged in at night.

"One idea, which is not well-developed at the moment, is to get a consortium of interested people to come together to get the interest of an electric car manufacturer.

"If Government and, say Belco or other companies, made a commitment towards it, we would have a group that came together to make a large order and share the same experience of using them.

"We've had some presentations from companies but so far we are still looking.'' Dr. Sleeter said one option would be electric cars with solar panels to top up the batteries. Overnight they could be charged by being plugged into an outlet.

ENVIRONMENT ENV