Scheduled to take effect this Friday, a newly approved increase in public bus fares across Belize has ignited sharp political backlash, with the country’s opposition party warning that the change will disproportionately squeeze working-class households already grappling with broader cost-of-living pressures.
Godwin Haylock, the Opposition People’s United Democratic Party (UDP) representative for Queen Square, used a Wednesday press conference to publicly condemn the policy, arguing that the fare hike piles additional financial strain on thousands of low- and middle-income Belizeans who rely on public transit for their daily commutes to and from work.
Haylock criticized the ruling People’s United Party (PUP) Briceño administration for a lack of empathy toward commuters, saying the government has failed to deliver any meaningful solutions to the ongoing fuel price crisis that has driven up operating costs for bus providers. “Brace yourself my fellow Belizeans, because first it was the increase in the price of fuel, but by Friday there will be increase in bus fares, leaving your pockets empty,” Haylock told reporters. “This PUP government, it is obvious, they have no solution to the fuel crisis. More than that, they have no mercy on the working class people who have to get up on that bus every single day and go back and forth to work.”
According to projections shared by Haylock, the popular intercity route between Belize City and Belmopan will see a $2 increase in fares — a jump that he says creates an unsustainable burden for entry-level workers. As an example, he highlighted entry-level public servants based in Belmopan who earn less than $1,500 per month, translating to roughly $300 in weekly take-home pay. Under the new fare structure, Haylock calculated that these workers would face $100 in weekly round-trip bus costs alone, eating up a full third of their weekly income.
While Haylock acknowledged that rising global and domestic fuel prices have cut into the profit margins of bus operators, he emphasized that working commuters will ultimately bear the brunt of the fare increase. To address the root of the issue, he is calling on the Briceño administration to immediately cut fuel taxes as a targeted measure to ease the financial burden on both transit providers and daily commuters.