This morning Novelo's the receiver won what appears to be a decisive round in the endless bus battle. Today the last two National Transport buses were taken off the road and now National no longer makes runs to Benque Viejo.
Since the second week in November, Transport authorities have steadily been working to remove National's buses from the road. We last reported on the bus situation when National Transportation Buses were being impounded for operating without valid road service permits. Well today we found out how those commuters feel about the change. But our story begins this morning at the Pound Yard as the Transport Department and the Police took the last of the National Buses off the road.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
At 9:30 this morning in the presence of David Novelo, CEO of National Transportation Services limited, members of the Transport Department along with Assistant Commissioner of Police Crispin Jeffries and other police officers took control of and impounded an Intransit bus as well as a National Transportation bus. The busses were taken from the Pound Yard bus stop, from where the buses start their runs, to Price Barracks. There these two buses joined 5 others that have been taken off the western runs for operating without a valid road service permit. While the 6 buses were parked in Price Barracks, this evening bus drivers who have no equipment to operate vented their frustration in front of Novelo's Bus Line.
Andrew Wagner, Driver
"We will not be running again until further notice because they have been impounding the buses and we have exhausted the equipment that we had available to run and so it means that all of us now are out of a job and we don't have anymore buses to run right now. When they first started we were trying to utilize some of the buses that we had for the city, Intransit, however this morning they also took two of those and we don't want to jeopardize the Intransit service for the Western run."
And now he says there are a number of drivers and conductors out of a job.
Andrew Wagner,
"We had like fourteen drivers employed and ten conductors, because all the drivers didn't have conductors yet, but we had like ten conductors and that basically rounds off to about a hundred people or more who will be affected by it indirectly because each of these guys have families and everybody is looking forward to Christmas time, especially the children, they are the ones being affected mostly by it. I have a bank mortgage, a loan, that I am paying, and I have to find money before Christmas to meet my payment plus I have two sons at home expecting something from Santa Claus this year and I am sure I am not the only one. There's many others out here experiencing the same situation. I guess we'll have to do what most of what these other guys do on the street, just sit at home and do nothing and try and find something to do so that we can at least have something for Christmas. If not we'll have to do what we can do with what we have."
Phillip Jones,
"You're seeing that there is like 20 people out here who are out of a job now. This is Christmas, where will they get their ham? Who will provide for them?"
And while the National Transportation employees don't have a place to get their ham, for the commuters who over the past 3 months have become accustomed to
the bus runs to Benque it means they have only one alternative to get home.
Andrew Wagner,
"My sympathy goes out to the commuters and the people who supported us. It was because of them that we started running again. What it means for them now is that they will have to go back into that terminal to ride the buses that are not safe, those buses that get them dusty and tear their clothes, and have nothing to do other than just bear it."
Phillip Jones,
"We would just like to thank the commuters for their support and for riding with us over the last three months. We have tried our best and we have come to a halt due to the fact that they have impounded our buses that we are operating by."
Commuter #1,
"I'm really amazed about what is happening. It's not fair because the Belizean people deserve a better treatment than this. We are the ones that are suffering. I want to reach home, everybody wants to reach home. I personally like the National Transport because its clean, its reliable, I can sit very comfortable and now I have to ride the Novelo's and I don't think we deserve this."
Commuter #2,
"I came from San Ignacio this morning on a Novelo's bus that didn't even have a conductor. Every time somebody got on the bus, the driver had to stop and collect. It took almost two hours to reach Belmopan. Its very unfair and I don't think its right to we. The National has better service, far better service. They have better buses, better services, and its far better than Novelo's. Novelo's has old buses which shut down on the road. We have to feel bad because we don't have any other choice. We are forced to ride a bus which isn't in good shape. The buses don't run good, they take long on the road, and they are not comfortable. It doesn't make any sense. Its very unfair."
Commuter #3,
"The bus here are cheaper and it is not fair what they charge you in there because in there they charge you $3.50 in there and here they only charge us $1.50 because I live at Jaguar Paw. I now have to catch the bus in there, although I don't like catching the bus in there, but that is what I will have to go do."
And while the commuters are now stuck with taking the only alternative, today we saw buses coming out of the Novelo's Terminal that had x marks on the tires. These were put there by the Transport Department, marking them as tires that are not roadworthy and need to be changed. But now that the receiver is the only one on the roads, today these X marks had the green light to go.
As for the commuters who cannot travel on National Transportation, Novelo's Bus boss Bob Garcia says Novelo's bus line has the capacity to accommodate them. As of this evening, he said all busses are running to schedule. Garcia this evening said he could not comment on the X's on the bus tires because he didn't put them there. We have however confirmed with the Commissioner of Transport that the X's mean that the tires need to be changed.
Meanwhile the Southern Transport bus drivers who were fired last week for refusing to drive buses that were unfit to be on the roads, will be holding a protest in Dangriga tomorrow. They will be joined by the National Transport drivers tomorrow at 9 in front of the receiver's bus station.
