And while Zabaneh took a victory lap on the essential soundness of the NBC - he was at the Biltmore today to meet with those on the other side of the equation. That's the Belize Bus Association which represents the bus lines who chose not to join the National Bus Company.
And today as they waited on the NBC for answers on what the future holds for them, we asked their president why they decided not to join:
Phillip Jones, Belize Bus Association
"We represent almost majority of the north and we still have members from the south and the west so clearly there are some members that choose not to join and one of the reasons we are here to discuss that and see how we can move forward but our main purpose here is to reiterate we are here and we are committed to serving the general public. Our goal is to not have deterred, waver or change, we are still here to serve the public and to give the best service possible and we are just here to ensure what the minister said, that operators who choose not to join will be respected and allowed to continue providing the service, providing that we meet the standard which we have all done so far."
Jal-
"Did they try to buy you guys out?"
Phillip Jones, Belize Bus Association
"They met some of the operators from the north and as businessmen they did not see enough consultation for them to go that direction hence the reason they choose not to be a part of the national bus company so we are here representing those operators that choose not to join."
