Earlier in the day, Communications Officer for the Ministry of Transport, Glen Tillet gave us more background on the decision made by the Ministry of Transport and its position vis a vis the Novelo brothers.
Glenn Tillet, Ministry of Transport
"We wish to make it clear to the commuting public that National Transport Limited has no license, no approval, and no authority to be conducting runs."
Alfonso Noble,
Now but where are we in terms of now National is now fully operational and they are taking people to Benque as far as we are concerned last night and this morning?
Glenn Tillet,
"Yes that has been our observation as well. The procedure and the process under law is very clear: You cannot or you should not operate buses without a permit. They are operating without a permit and the Transport Board is making it clear that the law will be applied accordingly. They will be prevented from continuing their runs."
Alfonso Noble,
If you take these people off the road what will happen?
Glenn Tillet,
"We will not remove the National Transport Limited Company buses unless we are certain that an adequate level of service will be provided. We can understand the receivership's position in that they have safety and security concerns, as well as financial ones, but foremost in our minds, and in our priorities, is the safety and convenience of commuters. The Board has been acting deliberately and methodically over the last three months to sort out the issue of permits and it is important that the Belizean public know that the only authority that can issue permits is the Belize Transport Board. They are doing this in a considerate manner. They are first looking at all the permits that have been issued over the years, they have given approval for the renewal of some 103 permits, and I believe later this month they will be considering more applications. But it is important that everybody understands that we are looking for final and sustainable solutions to this problem. We won't be hasty, we won't be provoked into any thing that could be construed as illegal, unethical, or immoral. In other words the Board and the Transport Board along with the police will act in an accountable and transparent manner."
Today, the usually glib Novelo brothers were not available for comment. So the upshot of all this back and forth is that tomorrow, bus commuters can expect their regular Novelo's runs without any supplementation from the National runs, which some fear will spell crowded buses, but we'll wait and see.
