Small bus operators ask for Government support
Since the National Bus Owners Organization was formed in 1971, it has been a bumpy ride for those in the industry. While the bigger bus lines have managed to forge ahead, the small operators say unfair competition and favoritism from the Ministry of Transport are squeezing them out.
On Thursday evening a group of small operators gathered on WASA’s compound. Their bone of contention was that they were being excluded from a meeting between Maxwell Samuel’s, the minister of Transport and the bigger bus companies. The incident highlighted the growing rift between the small and large operators.
Rafael Novelo, Secretary, National Bus Owners Organization
“The only division we see is that government is having meetings separately with one group and the other group does not know about it. So you would like or the group would like to be kept fully informed about what is happening or whatever meetings that take place? Well naturally because that will be the benefit for all the country.”
The bus owners gathered at WASA say their goal is to serve the public with the highest standards of quality of service and safety. However, the operators say their efforts have been jeopardized by politics.
Guadalupe Chan, Chan Company, Ladyville
“We would like the ministry to be fair with everybody I mean we have notice that they have been leaning towards the bigger bus lines and we in numbers are more than the bigger bus lines.”
“We want to be dealt with fairly. We want to have our routes respected and our permits and to avoid creating more saturation.”
Oswald McFadzean, Bus owner, Belize Rural North
“Well what we would like to see is that government just try to arrange things in the proper way so that, this is a free country and we want to be free and we want things to run smoothly.”
Jacqueline Woods
“And things have not been running smoothly. Passengers tell horror stories of the buses they are travelling in playing a deadly game of chase and racing on the highway. The rivalry between the companies escalated last week when the driver of a larger bus is reported to have actually fired shots at an employee of a smaller company. Fortunately no one was killed.”
But it is not just a problem of small versus big bus lines, everyone feels too many permits is slicing up an already small bus route pie and creating havoc on the highways. Presently there are forty members in the National Bus Owners Association and fifty non-members. It is this group that the small operators are concerned about. According to Rafael Novelo, the Secretary of Organization, the ministry of transport has been issuing too many road service permits causing congestion on our roads.
Rafael Novelo
“We are always asking the government that if there is a need for more buses we don’t necessarily need more operators. Let us know when a route needs more service, ask the bus owners in the area to put more buses if it gets to the extreme where a bus owner cannot afford, well then maybe you can invite a newcomer.”
Tomas Chell, Chell’s Bus Service, Orange Walk
“It is an unfair competition because we are in the competition with our hands tied. I think if they would loose our hands and see what we can do it would be better.”
Jacqueline Woods
“But too many permits is not the only concern. In the deep South, owners are worried about meeting the one thousand-dollar permit fee. It is a part of the statutory instrument regulating the industry but has never been enforced.”
Lorenzo Pop, Pop’s Bus Service, Toledo
“In Toledo it is very high for us in Toledo because there is no way that we can make the money because the people in Toledo are farmers you know and one we are not running daily we are only running from Mondays to Saturdays which are the market days that people come out.”
According to the Ministry of Transport they are presently looking at how the bus service rates can be modified and they will be consulting with the various bus line operators to come up with a mutual agreement.
The owner of one of Belize’s largest and most popular bus companies declined to go on camera but he told news five it is not the larger companies, which have been creating the unfair competition. He said originally small bus operators were given permits to do village runs to the towns while the bigger companies would cover the main roads, but he claimed that under previous administrations the Department of Transport gave permits to government supporters allowing them to operate on other companies’ routes. He says he and the other large operators are pleased that the ministry is finally trying to address the problem. For their part, the Ministry of Transport told News Five they are concerned about congestion on the roads from too many operators but denied that they have acted irresponsibly. Permanent Secretary Victor Gonzales says all permits must be published in the governments’ gazette and it is the responsibility of the Transport Advisory Council to recommend who is issued a permit. The ministry says they will continue to work with all bus owners and have no intention of excluding the small bus operators from the decision making process. Permanent Secretary Gonzales says the meeting which took place at WASA’s headquarters did have representation from the organization and he believes those members will share the information with the other members.
