From just plain bad and broken down buses to no buses at all...that was the cry of commuters in the city today as for much of the day they were effectively stranded for hours. We talked to one commuter who had been left waiting.
Commuter,
"I di wait for the bus like a whole hour now."
KS: _How long does it normally take to come?
Commuter,
"Like every half hour or ever 15 minutes."
KS: _What were you thinking happened?
Commuter,
"I don't know. I don't know what happened."
What happened is that the Novelo's Bus Company which is in the hands of the Receiver is now, apparent to all, unable to provide enough buses to service all the runs within the city. And while we reported last Wednesday that the Novelo brothers, Antonio and David, had acquired new buses and had started running buses within the city and to Ladyville today the city's Traffic Department ordered them to park their buses. It turns out that the brothers do indeed have a license but the Traffic Department is now claiming that their new buses weigh over the maximum of 10,000 pounds.
After a day of meeting with their lawyers, Spokesman for the Novelo brothers Ismael "Miley" Garcia told us they will continue running even if it means breaking the city's law.
Ismael "Miley" Garcia, Spokesman for Novelo Brothers
"Well actually today the City Transport Department along with the Police told us that we could no longer run the buses. These buses we licensed in the proper way with the City Transport Department and then a few days later an attempt was made, I don't why, but an attempt was made to stop the runs once we started running. The first action was that the drivers were confronted. In some cases the drivers were confronted and in some cases their driver's licenses were taken away and the transit permit for Belize Transit, which they were given a copy of, was taken away. And then subsequent to that the Transport Department physically removed the license plate off some of the buses and they came inside with either a screwdriver or another sharp object and scraped the decals, the stickers that are inside the windshield. However we continued to run because we feel that we have a legal right to operate in the city. Belize Transit Limited holds a permit to operate city buses. We have been consulting with our attorneys because one of the reasons that we've been given by the city's Transport Department is the fact that the tier weight of the buses is in excess of what the city is authorized to license. That is ridiculous because there's a formula by which we work out tier weight and it has to do with the engine of the vehicle and then the body of the vehicle. When you work out on that formula, these buses are like 5,000 to 7,000 (pounds)."
Keith Swift,
Are we to feel sorry for the Novelo Brothers?
Ismael "Miley" Garcia,
"We are not asking for any sympathy at this time. We are just asking for our rights. We own companies that we are entitled to operate and so we feel that we can run them. A lot of people are clamoring about how we have a debt that we are not servicing or whatever, but how do you service a debt if you are not generating income."
Keith Swift,
Again people would say the last name we want to hear associated with public transportation is Novelo's. Your response?
Ismael "Miley" Garcia,
"My response to them is that the Novelo's family has been providing bus service to the country for a long long time and we got into a business enterprise that didn't work out."
Keith Swift,
Some would say but its because of them we have all these public transportation problems.
Ismael "Miley" Garcia,
"Well we don't have a problem with that. I believe that if we can come back and we can give service in the city, people want service and we are offering that service now."
And true to his word this evening in open defiance of the city's Traffic Department the Novelo Brothers re-dispatched their buses to service the city. The Novelo Brothers acquired the 15 buses on a line of credit from a supplier. "Miley" Garcia says they are contemplating legal action against the city of Belize Traffic Department.
