Earlier we showed you the groundbreaking ceremony at Berger Field allowed us the opportunity to speak with Rodwell Ferguson, the Minister of Transport. Recently, he and other officials from the ministry have had to work hard to placate the bus owners from the Belize Bus Association.
Those operators were very close to implementing a national shutdown in protest against the severe gas pain brought on by inflation and the soaring world oil prices. And then, there is the disagreement against the bus run that the Ministry's Transport Board has granted to Floralia Bus Line for a round trip from Independence, to Dangriga, and then to Belize City. We also told you about the reports that have emerged that Floralia has been getting incentives, supposedly because their model of a premium public transportation experience fits in with the Ministry's new vision.
Ferguson is hoping that during his leadership of the Ministry, there will be the retirement of all of those old school buses that make most of the industry's fleet. So, to demonstrate that he is not an adversary of the BBA's membership, he has approached the National Bank of Belize to provide them with financing to upgrade their fleet.
Ferguson made the announcement last week during the 2-day House Meeting on the new budget, and today, we asked him to provide a few more details:
Hon. Rodwell Ferguson - Minister of Transport
"I had a discussion with the National Bank about 2 weeks ago, and we agreed to find the funding to let them upgrade their buses. They will prepare an MOU. I will take [it] to Cabinet for their approval. Once Cabinet approves, then the process begins. We hope that by the end of the year, the upgrades should [be] completed, and everybody should have better buses on the highway. And that will couple with an 8 or 10-year probate. When I say 8 or 10-year probate, we are saying then that you want to bring in buses, maybe 2018 and beyond, and that's a brand new busy, then you get 8 years. You're going to bring a brand new bus, for the incentive, you get 10 years. And those who want to remain as is, we'll maintain the 2-year permit, and eventually - I'm sorry - they'll have to be phased out because we have to upgrade our bus system in this country. So, we're on that mission."
Daniel Ortiz
"When do you foresee an actual signing of official documents, an MOU, and actual shifting where you see these buses start to arrive in the near future?"
Hon. Rodwell Ferguson
"That MOU should be signed within 2 or 3 weeks' time, and then, the initial process will begin. I want the operators to understand that I am here to work, not against them, but to work with them. It is my goal, and it is my objective that we must upgrade. That is my mission as the minister of transportation. So, I don't want any of them to feel that we are working against them. Whenever we start to plan the whole structure, it's going to be the Ministry of Transport along with the bus operators, that we can come to one final conclusion for the betterment of all of them."
Daniel Ortiz
"What do you foresee in terms of estimates of finances that will be needed to make this big transition that you foresee?"
Hon. Rodwell Ferguson
"I think the bank is prepared to lend 150 thousand [dollars] for any single operator, and so, it will be a maximum of 150 thousand, and it can go below that. But they want better buses on the highway."
Daniel Ortiz
"What is the standard, when you say better buses?"
Hon. Rodwell Ferguson
"Well, we're going to stream the entire industry that only certain buses can run on the main highway, and they must be coaches. We have to move away from these buses that are school buses. That is inadequate and uncomfortable."
