Today was the day to test the national transportation system's capacity to move commuters in peak hours under peak demand. The big test came as all schools, with the exception of the University of Belize resumed classes after the Christmas holidays. So did they pass the test? Well they did. From the contact points we polled, the consensus is that everyone got to where they needed to, with only minor inconveniences.
It should be business as usual, but for the Department of Transport it's a benchmark accomplishment being able to coordinate and operationalize a national bus network after the December 18th collapse of the only national bus service, Novelo's. Taking up a great deal of the slack was National Transport Limited, the company owned by the Novelo brothers, which the Novelo's receivership claims was instrumental in forcing the shutdown. We spoke to Phillip Jones, the National Transportation Services Limited's Belize City manager, and he says for the runs that they have had to take up from Belize City to Benque and Dangriga the service provided was more than adequate.
Phillip Jones, National Transport
"We don't really have a problem but obviously we need to put some more
buses on the road, probably in certain areas. But so far we are monitoring the situation closely and we have people in San Ignacio that are monitoring that situation, we have people in Belmopan, and Benque Viejo who are monitoring the runs. But so far we have no problems as yet. What we have done today is we have put back the original schedule that it was before the receivership, which entailed every half an hour from 3:30 right up until 5:30 in the evening. We have put additional shuttle runs in Belmopan to accommodate students and also in Benque Viejo we have put additional school runs."
Alfonso Noble,
Do you all have the capacity in terms of the amount of buses to maintain this half an hour schedule?
Phillip Jones,
"Definite, definitely. Without a doubt, to be frank with you, it went much better than we anticipated and of course we need to monitor it closely to see at the end of the day where we had problems and where there was no flaws."
Jones says they have as many as 34 buses running the western route everyday. But even as the transportation system is holding up in the wake of the collapse, the after effects of that collapse is still being felt. The taximen who operate in front of the Novelo's terminal on West Collect Canal that is now inactive and who were one of the most vocal critics about the service the receivership was providing are now feeling the effects. They say that the City Council has asked them to pay for the privilege of parking in front of the bus terminal. But they say now that there is no traffic there, they are not making any money.
Taxi #1,
"From the place closed down, we haven't made any money because from the place closed down the business really slow, its bad. Some people work out here all day and some people only make $10 or $20 a day and some people are paying a car loan for $40 a day and they can't pay their bills. We would want the place opened back, that is our problem right now because if the place is opened back, we could pay all our bills but it is a problem right now."
And while the taximen's livelihoods remain uncertain with the closure of the terminal, David Novelo one of the directors of the now defunct Novelo's Bus Line today told us that the Novelo family is working on a proposal to present to government. He says it will look at the debt of the company as well as the future of the national transportation industry. This proposal will be presented to government this week.
