Belizean Bus Association Meets with Minister of Transport
Today, the executive of the Belizean Bus Association met with Minister of Transport Rodwell Ferguson and his team, following a release indicating that December thirty-first, 2023 is the deadline for the upgrade of buses. The transition has been a discussion for some time now, including the phasing out of older buses. It is something that the bus owners have agreed to, but say that the deadline given by the ministry is unrealistic. The media caught up with President of the Belizean Bus Association, Thomas Shaw, who says that following a meeting of the B.B.A. executive on Sunday, he called upon the minister. He shares, in part, the options that were presented, including a raise in bus fares by seventy-five percent.
Thomas Shaw, President, Belizean Bus Association
Thomas Shaw
“We have supporters from the biggest bus company here, which is West Line. What come out of that meeting is that they have actually moved the goalpost because what they are asking for is quite impossible and they have to determine what they want. Yo want wah electric bus or yo want a diesel bus because you are telling the operators now that some of them noh even pay off for the bus they have presently, but you are telling them they have to park them come December and have newer buses. So what we are telling the minister and what we want to tell the riding public which we do sympathise with them, if this is what the department wants, then the bus rides have to go up by seventy-five percent in order for it to…it does because it is easy to sit behind a desk and to say do policies, make policies and to put things out there but in reality on the ground if you go out there, it is something different. They have got to get out here and see what it entails. We have, on numerous occasions; operators have put this together and show them what it cost for fuel, what it cost for your office, what it cost for social security, what it cost for oil, what it cost for fuel. And nobody goes into business to lose money; you go in to make a profit. And what do you buy the buses out of? Out of the profits. So if you are not making enough profit, where do you go from there.”
Duane Moody
“So there push the goalpost or increase the fare?”
Thomas Shaw
“Absolutely. In order for it to work. And if you are not part of the problem then you have to be part of the process. In order for this to work, it has to be a collaborative effort between G.O.B. and the operators. There’s no way the operators can afford to be taking this loss. I see all the Chinese stores, everybody else increasing their fares except the bus owners.”
