With a potential bus shutdown just days away, government stepped into damage control mode. After the Belize Bus Association warned on Wednesday that operators would park their buses on Monday without intervention, Minister of Transport Dr. Louis Zabaneh met with association members this morning in Belize City. Going into that meeting, operators made one thing clear: they want bus fares increased from fourteen cents to nineteen cents per mile. Association President Phillip Jones told us the adjustment isn’t about profit, it’s about fairness. He argues that buses operating under the National Bus Company already charge nineteen cents per mile, and allowing independent operators to do the same would finally level the playing field.
Phillip Jones
Phillip Jones, President, Belize Bus Association
“I can tell you my members are far more serious than me. I am the one that is trying to keep them together. But at the end of the day, these members behind me, this is the last thing they want to do to the commuters, because we are in some very challenging times. We don’t want to strike. The members don’t want to strike. The members don’t want to strike. Belizeans don’t want us to strike. But there comes a time when we will have to put our foot down. There are many times we go days without salary. I cant tell you the last time I get a salary to be honest, and the members are facing the same thing. We are just asking the Belizean people, we are not asking for lot. And I am sure when they see the agenda, we are not asking for a raise. We are simply asking for NBC and the bus operators, to charge the same price. And I can share this, NBC is charging nineteen cents per mile. The BBA and private operators are charging fourteen cents.”
Transport Minister Rejects Bus Fare Increase, Again
As bus operators walked into today’s meeting hoping for higher fares, the transport minister made it clear that that option is off the table. Speaking to News Five ahead of the talks, Doctor Luis Zabaneh ruled out any fare increase or price adjustment. Instead, he signaled that government would bring other proposals to the table, including the idea of operators forming their own bus company in the north, modeled after the National Bus Company.
Louis Zabaneh
Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Transport
“We have been in touch with the BBA on an ongoing basis. The prime minister has been out of the country. So we suggested that by Friday afternoon we would discuss with the PM and do a round robin. However, they asked for an earlier meeting which we were happy to oblige.”
Paul Lopez
“How did the threat of Monday’s shutdown strike you?”
Dr. Louis Zabaneh
“Well, they had already stated that in their first letter, that they were feeling a lot of pressure form the high prices. Now that they are given date, that puts some timeline to it. One of the thing I will share with them, if they do not wish to be a part of the NBC, then they should organize themselves as a company that will benefit in the north.”
Paul Lopez
“How open are you to a price increase or adjustment. They will ask for nineteen cents per mile from fourteen cents per mile.”
Dr. Louis Zabaneh
“That is off the table still. From my end, I cannot make that recommendation to Cabinet because we know that is not just about bus operators. It is also about commuters, because we know that commuters are facing pressures as well. one of the main reasons we formed the NBC is to gain efficiencies so that we do not have to go to commuters to ask for higher prices. But we will discuss and perhaps in the wisdom of Cabinet they may see if different, then we go from there.”
Whether that alternative is enough to ease tensions remains to be seen.
Should Commuters Prepare for “Busgeddon”?
With the clock ticking toward a possible nationwide bus shutdown, the president of the Belize Bus Association is turning up the heat. Philip Jones warned today that if government fails to act by Monday, public transportation could come to a complete standstill. He stopped short of calling it Armageddon, but offered a term of his own, “busgeddon,” to describe just how disruptive the fallout could be for commuters across the country.
Phillip Jones
Philip Jones, President, Belize Bus Association
“They say if you want to get attention you cry and we cried and we stopped and there are different measures in play. I am humbly asking the Minster of Transport to please listen to the bus operators. This is a crucial industry. We don’t want to strike. We don’t want to discontinue service, but we are in a position and if Monday comes it wont be Armageddon for the bus, it will be busgeddon. He needs to understand that in order for these mom and pop operation to continue, they need to simply to sit down and heed to the call.”
Late this afternoon, BBA President Philip Jones reached out to our newsroom informing that the planned shutdown has been called off tentatively, pending Cabinet’s response.
Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.
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