Transport Department Welcomes Back A.D.O & Fuente del Norte Bus Companies

For people who enjoyed the services of the A.D.O. buses from Mexico, they will be coming back. The Cabinet has approved the return of Fuente del Norte and A.D.O. bus services in Belize. Passengers who traveled anywhere from Guatemala through to Mexico by bus before the COVID pandemic enjoyed the services these companies offered. Through the restoration of their road service permit, A.D.O. buses will provide services from Belize City to Merida and Cancun, starting May first. Meanwhile, Fuente del Norte will provide services from Belize City to Flores and Guatemala City starting April twenty-first. The Ministry of Transport assures the public and Belizean bus operators that Fuente del Norte and A.D.O. bus lines will operate under strict conditions, including with international road service permits that are issued for every run per day and that must be paid for beforehand. Operators crossing the border points must also have a manifest of their passengers on board and the buses will not be allowed to pick up local commuters en route to their final destination. Hence, only passengers travelling to Mexico or Guatemala who already have their tickets will be permitted to board these buses. The A.D.O. buses will commence services at the Belize City bus terminal, while Fuente del Norte buses will have designated stops in San Ignacio and outside the Belize City terminal spaces to take on passengers. The Transport Department informs that there is a five hundred-dollar fine if these bus companies contravene any of the conditions outlined on their road service permits, as well as the cancellation of their permits. We asked Chief Transport Officer, Dian Vasquez how they can ensure that the international lines will adhere to their guidelines.

Dian Vasquez

Dian Vasquez, Chief Transport Officer

“We will be having meetings with both companies next week to discuss  the permit fees, what are the conditions that they’ll be adhering to? For example, they will not be allowed to pick up local commuters. They can only move with ticketed passengers to their final destinations, and we will be collaborating with the police department and have heightened enforcements with our wardens to ensure that there is full compliance of these conditions. And if they contravene any of the conditions outlined in their permit, their permit will be subject to cancellation or they might incur a fine. Their bus permit or their runs will in any way affect the local bus schedule because they are scheduled to work at night. And so, again, like I said, when it comes to enforcement. The department has been receiving, you know, a lot of feedback that there is this perception that there is weak weakened presence or weak presence, um, on the highways. But that is actually not true. We actually have a lot of operators reaching out to our office complaining about violation tickets they are receiving. Of course, I have to highlight that we have 48 wardens in our department responsible, patrolling our national highways. Basically International road service permits, yes, they will be have, they will have to pay per day. So there is a fee for the permit per day per run.”

Marion Ali

“How feasible is that?”

Dian Vasquez

“Very feasible because that was the infrastructure that existed before, and so what happens, and this is why we are going to have a meeting with these companies before they resume their services, because we will be looking at the permits, the fees, and ensuring that there is proper payments being done. And we will ensure that they understand that we are very serious about compliance and holding them accountable and responsible for the conditions outlined on their road service permit.”