As key closed-door negotiations with Belize’s Department of Transport got underway on Wednesday, the Belize Bus Association (BBA) has doubled down on its ultimatum: unless the government addresses longstanding inequalities in industry compensation, private bus operators across the country will suspend all service starting this coming Monday.
In a press statement ahead of the talks, BBA President Phillip Jones painted a grim picture of the current financial strain facing private operators, saying most firms are “running on fumes” after months of absorbing skyrocketing fuel costs that have turned every route into a losing proposition. “These operators have continued to sustain loss after loss,” Jones emphasized, noting that a planned shutdown scheduled for the previous Monday was called off only to give the association one last chance to appeal directly to Transport Minister Dr Louis Zabaneh.
Jones stressed that industrial action is not the desired outcome for any of the association’s members, but mounting financial pressure has left operators with no other options if their demands are not met. “My members are far more serious than me… this is the last thing they want to do to the commuters who rely on our services every day,” he added.
At the heart of the conflict is a 5-cent per mile disparity in public mileage compensation between private operators and the state-owned National Bus Company (NBC). Currently, private firms receive just $0.14 per mile for their routes, while the NBC collects $0.19 per mile for the same type of service. The BBA’s core demand is straightforward: level the playing field by standardizing the rate across all public bus operators.
Jones argued the request is entirely reasonable, saying “Let the operators get the same fare that the NBC is receiving; it’s 19 cents for them. So why can’t it be 19 cents for us too? If we don’t come to a positive resolution on the request that we had asked, then transportation won’t be able to be provided by the operators on Monday coming.”
Compounding the dispute are additional grievances from private operators, who allege widespread victimization by authorities. The association claims that private buses are routinely locked out of official bus terminals, forcing drivers to load passengers on public sidewalks in unsafe and inconvenient conditions.
The government has already signaled it is unwilling to meet the BBA’s rate demand. Earlier this week, Minister Zabaneh told local outlet News 5 that the requested rate adjustment is “off the table.”
Only eight of the BBA’s more than a dozen member operators were permitted to attend the closed-door negotiations, which also included Transport CEO Chester Williams. As of Thursday morning, no details have emerged on progress or outcomes from the talks, leaving thousands of daily commuters across Belize bracing for widespread disruption to public transit starting Monday.