Bus Owners get 21 days to work on a route with transport department

Bus operators from the North of the country attended a meeting in the old capital at ten this morning. The meeting was necessary because operators were not happy with the schedules proposed by the Ministry of Transport for the northern and western zones.  Some of the operators lost a number a number of runs, which were awarded to new operators. Today the operators and Minister Melvin Hulse trashed out the details of new comers and the differences with the scheduling arrangements. The changes were expected to come into effect on Sunday, but more time was needed and all parties agreed to have further discussions before implementation.  Here’s a look at how the meeting went.

Melvin Hulse

Melvin Hulse, Minister of Tranport

“The drivers and the people who were left out of a job with Novelo’s and National that his how they were and are still running on the northern—long before I become into this thing yah. So dah noh like the B.B.O.C. people are newcomers. I would not like that misinterpretation. Making a comment on Biscayne? That dah the Belize District. If wah villager from one of their village would like to run to Belize City, then they have a right to apply. It’s not like they up and down. According to this schedule, they have one run at 6:30—it noh make no difference if dah wah hundred—but dah wah villager in the village of Belize district who would like to run to Belize City. I mean the Orange Walk District can’t be resentful of people in the Belize and Corozal District who are getting the runs from their village to their town. And for the Belize District, they people have an equal right to go to their city. The main problem I understood is that the company that didn’t get any runs of any sort is Chells. I think from what I’ve read in this.”

Member, Belizean Bus Association

“I am a member of the bus association and the bus association is representing all of the members here. And he is the president is here. And on behalf of this, I have behind me my workers and on the twenty-second, all these workers are going out of work. Will u assist me in paying my workers—I have working from five, ten years. Are you going to assist me so I can assist their families with their payment or sort forth because when comes Saturday, all of them gone. They got family, they got people to eat. I send my application, I send it over to the transport department and I as a member of the association along with these, we ask the president. And that’s why the president is here and is talking on behalf of all of us here. So this letter that we made, we made it because we weren’t satisfied with what they gave us when we received the letter. So we walked out when they give us the application letter.”

Thomas Shaw: President, Belizean Bus Association

“What my members told me is that if you want to put a slot—in other words: Mister Tillett you have from 6-7, Mister Chells, you have from 7-8. What the association is looking at is let the operators in the north, we give them first priority. And that’s their problem. That is why they are disgruntled because they are not really getting a run. But basically the B.B.O.C., I’m here to say that B.B.O.C. would like to stay in the west. First priority given to the operators in the north and if this can’t work out today, let us just freeze until we can come to a solution. Let us put it on hold minister.”

According to a release from the Ministry of Transport, the new Northern Zone schedule would be postponed for twenty-one days. The operators agreed to make proposals for changes to the schedule and that there would be no further extensions after the twenty one day period had passed.