BBA Says Bus Owners Aren’t Ready for Upgrade Deadline
It’s been almost a year since bus operators were given a deadline to upgrade their fleet of buses. December, 2023 will complete that year after the bus operators had met with the Ministry of Transport to ask for more time. They had cited a number of problems that they were having, including the inaccessibility to adequate financing. The time was extended to December of this year and today the problems still seem to persist. News Five’s Marion Ali spoke with Belize Bus Association Secretary, Ewart Metzgen and Minister of Transport, Rodwell Ferguson to find out how the problems could be resolved. The bus operators say they need more time, while the Minister says change has to happen. Here’s that report.
Rodwell Ferguson
Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Transport
“Last year December, we told the operators that they must upgrade 50% of their fleet by December 2022. I must say here that I did not see much changes. I try to be very pragmatic, and I’m in this position now for basically three years. And I really don’t want to leave this position and then I don’t see any changes happen. And so, just last month I asked the chief – the acting chief transport officer to write each operator across the country to remind them that December 2023 is almost here.”
Marion Ali, Reporting
Along with that reminder is the implementation of a vehicle and bus inspection project countrywide. It began on Monday in Punta Gorda and will conclude in Corozal. Upon the completion of that project, the Transport Board and the Minister of Transport will decide what course of action will be taken.
Rodwell Ferguson
“We can’t say we’ll eliminate all of them immediately, but gradually we’ll look at the worst ones and say, you know what, it’s time for us to make a start and figure out how we can improve our standards in this country. We even reduced the standards for them, and I have it on me right now, but it’s less strenuous than originally what we had planned. So we’re saying that you can have a bus from 2005 and above based on a certain amount of years you have, you get your bus service (permit) based on that.”
But many of the bus operators are still having challenges with upgrading their fleet of buses. Today Secretary of the Belize Bus Association, Ewart Metzgen told News Five that late model buses use a different type of fuel for efficiency, but that type of petrol is not available in Belize.
Via Phone: Ewart Metzgen, Secretary, Belize Bus Association
“Whenever you jump, 2007, 2008 models, bringing in these buses from the States, they have an EGR system on them which controls the emission, the exhaust, noh? And they use a special type of fuel, that we don’t sell here in the league. So that is a problem. With any bus, anybody who wants to bring in these upgraded buses, first of all, the government should have to start bringing the fuel to the bus services so that the bus could operate. That’s the type of fuel we have right now. The buses cannot run when they have problems, and it has to delete out the EGR settings in the computer. For them to run on that type of fuel that we have here, and that costs between $6,000 per bus.”
Metzgen said that bus operators are also facing problems getting financial assistance at this time because their request to have a bank representative on the Transport Board has still not been honoured.
Via Phone: Ewart Metzgen
“They had agreed in words that they would have had one of the persons from the banking industry sit on the Transport Board. That’s over six months ago, and neither here nor there with that. We’ve not heard back anything from them, or from the minister himself about that. And for us to make any headway with these lending institutions, I mean, they need to protect whatever investment they’re making in the industry.”
Ferguson differed with Metzgen on that point.
Rodwell Ferguson
“I don’t think that is an issue. Once they start the process, then we’ll have a good relationship with the bank and we will decide then. If the bank should have a presentation on the board, but we can’t have the banker presentation before they decide to start the process because we don’t know if they want to actually get a loan from the bank.”
Ferguson said the operators have not requested a meeting with the ministry recently but that there should be one planned shortly to discuss the strides that have been made. Meanwhile, Metzgen says that bus operators will meet in Burrell Boom Village on Sunday at ten-thirty to decide on a subsequent course of action. Marion Ali for News Five.
