Bus Companies Seek Judicial Review of New Bus Line Permits

Floralia Bus Line, after being in existence for only a few months, now faces a court application for the judicial review of its road service permits. Barrow and Williams L.L.P., on behalf of its clients, the Belize Bus Association, James Bus Line and Griga Bus Line, served the Chairman of the Belize Transport Board with a letter informing them that, “an Application for permission for judicial review to declare illegal and quash various Road Service Permits awarded to Floralia Limited by the Transport Board”. According to Attorney at Law Dean Barrow, Barrow and Williams L.L.P. is serving the Belize Transport Board, the Ministry of Transport, and the Attorney General’s Office. News Five spoke with Attorney Barrow over the phone today.

Dean Barrow

Dean Barrow, Attorney at Law

 “It is an application being brought by the Belize Bus Association together with a couple of its main members representing James Bus Line from Punta Gorda and Griga Line from Dangriga. Background is that in December of last year a permit was given to this new company, Floralia, involving some runs from Punta Gorda to Belize City, runs that conflicted with the runs already possessed by James Bus Line. The decision to award those permits were made, according to my clients, illegally, without any proper consideration, without the applications for the permits going to a meeting of the Transport Board on which they are represented, and without therefore the requisite steps to gazette the application to give people notice so that any objections might have been entertained. None of that was done and so my clients are saying that the award of the permits to Floralia was wrong. After that, additional permits were awarded to Floralia involving now the Dangriga to Belize City run. Again the same thing, my clients are saying well, there was no meeting of the board, this was not advertised, and nobody else knew that the transport authority was proposing to do that. That also makes the second award of permits illegal. There may be some additional permits that apparently are being contemplated but we are not sure. Certainly though, in terms of those that have already been given, where the runs have commenced with respect to Punta Gorda to Belize City, in December of last year, and where the runs, if they have not commenced, are commencing on Monday between Dangriga and Belize City. So, those permits are in effect and they are being challenged by the B.B.A. and the two members of the B.B.A.”