New bus regulations causing confusion at northern border

Marcelino Miranda

And in the north, Belizeans who headed to Mexico in public transportation either for weekend getaways or the end of month shopping, experienced delays at the border over the weekend.  The local buses that arrived at the Mexican border before nine in the morning on Saturday could not cross over because of a procedure adopted by Mexico for some time now but which will now take effect for the local operators. When News Five checked with the Mexican Embassy, we were told that the buses now have to follow a new schedule, which means that they will not be able to enter Mexico on the weekend. Press Officer, Marcelino Miranda, explained that the entry of buses is now regulated by an electronic system at the border. He says that while there was some confusion, it could have been avoided because the bus companies were informed and reminded of the new policy.

Marcelino Miranda, Press Officer, Mexican Embassy

“The busses are not being turned back, as some people say. It’s just that there is a special timetable to go into Mexico. If you want to pass with a bus to Mexico, all the bus drivers know that now there is a timetable. This is a whole process of modernization in Mexico of the Mexican Customs. This is a policy that has actually been in place since 2006 and it has been a long time since it has been actually enforced in Mexico. So now you can see at the border that we have a new modern electronic system in which all the vehicles have to pass and for the busses, there’s going to be also a special process. They have to pass through what we call the gamma ray. So this is a special scanning process and they have to go in and they have to pass the vehicle. Actually last week, the bus drivers were informed by the Customs—they were reminded that the system was going to start. So it seems that there was some confusion but there’s a clear timetable for the buses. They have to pass from Monday to Friday nine a.m. to seven p.m. Obviously, there are some early buses that arrive before nine and so they have to wait until nine and they can cross. So there’s no closure of the border. The border is open, it’s just that it’s a natural process of putting everything in order at the border.”

Miranda says bus operators are welcome to contact their office with any questions, suggestions and complaints. Official sources have told News Five, that although Mexican buses have been operating under the regulations since 2006, it is now being enforced on Belizean buses because there has been an increased occurrence of goods being smuggled across the border via the public transportation system.