Bus zoning: more problems than answers

The new bus system implemented on October nineteenth has some major wrinkles to iron out. While its objective was to improve the old system, it appears that some of the old problems of overcrowding, late arrivals and departures from terminals lack of enforcement officers on the roads, continue to plague the industry. And there are also new problems with some buses not running in their scheduled times because their owners simply cannot provide a bus for the run. Two weeks ago News Five monitored some of the runs between Ladyville and Belize City and pointed out overcrowding and the absence of traffic officers. Today our News Five team hit the highway at two-thirty this morning and made some startling observations. Marion Ali reports.

Marion Ali, Reporting
The problems were not immediately evident, as the two James’ buses that departed the Dangriga Bus Terminal just a couple minutes apart from each other around five this morning barely had passengers as they made their way to Belmopan. The first one was non-stop to Belize City, while the second was a regular run, which stops for highway travelers heading to reach Belmopan.

The third bus which departed was a G-Line bus at six a.m. That was another regular run which left promptly at six, with its arrival time in Belmopan being seven-thirty for students and office workers who needed to reach Belmopan in time for work and school. As we monitored its progress along the highway we noticed that the G-Line bus was running behind time, since it was the only bus which had to make frequent stops to pick up passengers waiting along the road. Just past Alta Vista at mile nineteen on the Hummingbird Highway the bus was full to capacity. Because there was not a scheduled bus for another hour, and because G-Line only had one bus to handle its six o’clock run, the one bus had to ram passengers onto the aisle and even onto the bus engine.

John Bustillos and these students were among the last to get lucky and find standing room onboard.

John Bustillos, Commuter
“The workers they don’t get on time to work because of lack of buses and the college students they reach late and that is a concern and it’s a problem. So we the villagers of Saint Margaret would like that government should put an end to this; more buses.”

Marion Ali
“When this problem started?”

John Bustillos
“It started from the twentieth of last month, October.”

Marion Ali
“The buses that come, you can’t get no seat or how…”

John Bustillos
“You go standing up and sometimes they don’t stop because they are full.”

Marion Ali
“Before now how the system used to run?”

John Bustillos
“It used to run better and every hour you have bus and yoh get seat.”

Nearer onto Belmopan, between Saint Margaret’s and Armenia Villages, it could hold no more passengers and simply dashed past them as it tried to make up for lost time. Isaias Perez and his grandfather were left on the roadside in Saint Margaret’s Village.

Isaias Perez, Commuter
“I mi di wait di bus and di bus pass, ih noh ker we because we mi di ker corn.”

Marion Ali
“Oh you have a big bag.”

Isaias Perez
“We have a big bag.”

Marion Ali
“So now what you have to do now?”

Isaias Perez
“We wah wait for a next bus.”

In Armenia Village, a group of students attending Belmopan Comprehensive High School just eight miles away, were also left stranded on the roadside.

Marion Ali
“Di bus gone left yoh?”

Student #1
“Yes ma’am, and I really upset about it. Why did they have to change the schedule? Why didn’t they just put another bus to travel for the morning just to pick us up?”

Marion Ali
“Every morning the bus go lef yoh?”

Student #1
“Not really, but because dehn rest ah bus dehn travel here and still the same thing happens.”

Marion Ali
“So when di bus passes and leave you all, how do you get to school?”

Student #1
“We reach late.”

Student #2
“This is trouble for us because every time we reach late dah school and sometimes di bus pick we and sometimes ih noh pick we. So every time we reach late, if you pass more than three times you reach late you get penalized. Sometimes I reach school until second period, I miss first period and have to get the information from some of my friends and that is kind of hard.”

Student #3
“When dah report card day we got wah lotta late.”

Marion Ali
“And this happen often?”

Student #3
“Everyday this happen, we have to reach late.”

Stacey Diaz, an office worker, says she too has been left on the road numerous times since the new system took effect.

Stacey Diaz, Commuter
“From ever since they changed the bus schedule you get to work late, the bus is very, very much overcrowded. They need to do something about it. They leave students on the highway, people reach—you have the people that need to get to work, they reach late as well. We need more buses on the highway. We need more buses; we have to get some more buses.”

Marion Ali
“You’ve been left on the highway?”

Stacey Diaz
“Many times, several times I have been left.”

Marion Ali
“So how you reach work?”

Stacey Diaz
“I would have to wait on the James that passes my area at seven-thirty and I would get to work to like half an hour later.”

By the time we caught up with the same bus in Belmopan, it had already unloaded the passengers but we asked the driver Keith Anderson why he overloaded his bus.

Marion Ali
“You don’t have more than one bus to run?”

Keith Anderson, Bus Driver, G-Line
“Yes but we have other schedules to meet too.”

Marion Ali
“You know it’s illegal to be running an overcrowded bur right? It’s dangerous to your passenger.”

Keith Anderson
“Yes, I know that. The people need to get to work.”

We tried to get a comment from Chief Transport Officer, Candelaria Zaldivar, but she told us she was just on her way to a meeting with traffic officers on the same topic and that we can call her tomorrow.

She did, however, invite us into that meeting for video purposes. We’ll be sure to call Zaldivar for the Transport Department’s position on the issue tomorrow. Reporting for News Five, Marion Ali.