P.M. Briceño Says Government is Prepared to Work with Bus Operators

The clock is ticking pending the removal of the chair of the Transport Board, based on an ultimatum issued by the Belize Bus Association on Monday.  It is the latest round in a clash between bus operators and the Ministry of Transport and threats have been made that industrial action is imminent should the request not be honored by Wednesday.  The public transportation sector is at a crossroads, as stakeholders remain at odds with the government over the improvement of the industry.  Commuter buses remain in a state of disrepair and some are no longer roadworthy, but are still transporting passengers to destinations across the country.  It’s a situation that the Transport Department is trying to address, but is facing strong headwinds from the B.B.A.  Earlier today, Prime Minister John Briceño weighed in on the matter and reiterated that his administration is prepared to work with bus operators to improve the state of public transportation.

Prime Minister John Briceño

Prime Minister John Briceño

“What is important is that I think there is a general frustration among our citizens about the buses that people are riding.  I understand that it’s a big investment to make, but we can’t continue to bring in these fifteen thousand dollar buses and then charging people six, seven, eight dollars to ride in them.  I know that the bus operators have a lot of expense, cost of fuel which we have no control over, tires, all of these things have gone up because of inflation and all of this is imported.  But we have to find a way how we can improve the transportation system.  We have said that we are prepared to sign long-term contracts with these bus operators if they bring in new buses and we are prepared to give them, just like Floralia, some tax exemptions to help them to hold down the cost of the bus or the buses that are needed.  And we are saying that we have two different routes, we have the highway which are the main routes that people take and then you have the feeder roads.  And so, we are saying, on the feeder roads if you want to use the less expensive buses that people would use just for shorter runs, I think it something that people would understand.  But on the highways, we really need to improve the level of buses.  Now, more and more people are talking, they are showing pictures where a tire buss pan di bus and they don’t want to stop, they continue running on one tire, putting at risk people’s lives and you see parts dropping off.  People are frustrated and as a government we have to be able to respond to that.  I want to assure the bus operators that we are their partners and we are prepared to sit down and to find ways on how we could work together, but when you make these demands and these threats, it’s not good because at the end of the day, as a government, we will do what we think is right.”