On October 29, 2026, a heated session unfolded in the Belize Senate during deliberations over a proposed limited operational concession that would authorize the state-run National Bus Company of Belize to launch services along the high-traffic Western and Southern transport corridors. As lawmakers dug into the legal framework underpinning the proposed policy, Government Senator Christopher Coye delivered a impassioned plea to his legislative colleagues to abandon long-held attachment to stagnant status quo and embrace long-overdue change for the country’s chronically underperforming public transportation sector.
Coye pointed out that the legislative provision governing the sector, Section 115 of the relevant transport act, dates back to 1985, while the overarching legislation itself was first enacted all the way back in 1938, making it a deeply outdated legal foundation for a modern national transit system. He criticized the widespread institutional tendency to prioritize comfort over progress, noting that Belize had celebrated 45 years of national independence, yet had failed to make meaningful, transformative strides comparable to nations such as Singapore, which had evolved from a developing economy to a global high-income hub within a 60 to 70 year timeframe.
The senior government lawmaker pushed back against reluctance to revise longstanding rules, asking his fellow senators whether the country should prioritize cowardly adherence to familiar but failing systems, or demonstrate the courage to overhaul a public transport ecosystem that has suffered consistent, well-documented operational failures for generations. He emphasized that continuing to preserve the broken status quo would condemn Belizeans to persistently subpar transit services for decades to come.
This report is adapted from a transcript of the station’s evening television newscast, with all Kriol-language remarks from speakers transcribed using a standardized, official orthography system for accuracy.
Coye Urges Courage on Bus Concession
