And Metzger says the proposed student half fare is just the tip of the iceberg. In his view, G.O.B. is forcing his industry to absorb all the excess costs brought on by inflation while prohibiting them from passing anything on to the consumer.
Here are some of the bus operator's struggles as the secretary explained them:
Ewert Metzgen, Secretary, BBA
"They are giving you the price raise, then they are telling you you must give students half price, so they are giving you with one hand and taking away with the other hand. Now, how are we to accomplish the goals that they have set, that they want to accomplish. I mean come on; they have to work with us. All our parts that we use have gone up. I'll give you a perfect example: tyres. we could one time get tyres for like $598 for a tyre, that same tyre now is over $700. Busses changes a set of tyres every sixth months, so that's 6 tyres every sixth months. You calculate that at close to $700.."
Reporter
"Now when this new document comes out, the one that actually sanction, what can we expect from it?"
Ewert Metzgen, Secretary, BBA
"Well, the higher prices, but we are working in something that operators can work with and that commuters can work with. That is one of the reasons why we went, because if we did not get the subsidy, it's like what the minister said, bus prices in some areas would have raise some $3, so we are trying, we are cognizant of the fact that Belizean people can't take much of a bus hike, but also we can't continue to take the losses."
