Today the national bus crisis went into its second day with the government's Transport Department continuing to manage and coordinate all major runs vacated by the collapsed Novelo's receivership. Today the Chairman of the National Transport Board and the Commissioner of Transport held a press conference to say that things aren't great but they are getting better.
Jules Vasquez Reporting,
They left after the last bus left close to midnight last night but this morning the transport department team was already back on the job when we got there at 6:45 making schedules and keeping order. This morning things were running smoothly as this 7:00 am Belmopan bus rolled off right on time.
Phillip Bracket, Commissioner of Transport
"Yesterday was the first day and if I would have to grade ourselves, we would have to give ourselves a B+, certainly not an A.".
And a scene like this could not earn an A, but today there was solution.
Phillip Bracket,
"We had one major glitch which was 4:30 to 5:10 or so at the Pound Yard when, for the first time, everybody converged upon the Pound Yard so to skeptics, or to those who...some people might have been taken aback by that because, and that was a result of not using a terminal facility. But what we have done to diffuse that situation is today we're having people who will go north moving out of Mosul Street, old Bstty's. People going west move out of the original Novelo's area."
Jules Vasquez,
Area, not the terminal.
Phillip Bracket,
"Not the terminal, the area. People going south, moving from the Constitution Park area where James normally operates from. It's not as smooth as I saying it of course but I think we have what is in place to move people as the need arises."
And that need will arise as commuters come to the city's commercial center for their Christmas shopping:
Phillip Bracket,
"Normally its five thousand people or so the receiver pulls per day. With the Christmas season perhaps that will go up by another one thousand or higher but what we have done is to have communication with other providers so if there is a need for example at Pound Yard, 40 to 50 people gathered there needing to go to Belmopan, we call on somebody who will come and take care of that."
And to pick up the slack, the Transport department will have to depend on those busses impounded and locked down at BDF's Price Barracks in Ladyville.
Cedric Borland, Chairman - Transport Board
"The Board took a decision to release four of the buses that were impounded by the board, these Novelo buses, so we released those."
The board took a decision but it is not the board's decision it is the DPP's decision and that would seem to make this release illegal. But Borland says in a time of crisis the authority must do what it must.
Jules Vasquez,
Your board is the one that gave the impoundment order for the offending Novelo's Buses which refused to comply with your directives as regards road service permits. Is this like eating back your vomit, having to say, 'okay release the buses, we need the Novelo brothers?'
Cedric Borland,
"I don't think so Jules. I think that we have seen a crisis, a national crisis, at this time in the bus industry and the board has made a decision to deal with that crisis. Jules we don't expect this to last very long. The government has recognized that it's a crisis situation in the bus industry and we are working fast to see how we can resolve this situation."
And today doing that work meant bringing in a team of auditors from the accountancies of Mark Hulse and Stanley Ermeav to conduct a physical audit of the receivership's assets. It was thorough, they walked through buses counting seats checking everything physically on the compound. It's a great accounting that will have to be done to figure out what went wrong with Novelo's part 2, and it's still left to be seen if the blame will remain at the door of the Transport Board when it granted National transport road service permits.
Cedric Borland,
"It had reached a stage where the board needed to make a decision whether should we continue to have commuters on the road side and hope that the receivership is going to meet that requirement or should we bring in new providers."
Jules Vasquez,
Were you aware that when you made decision that this would be the consequence, a shutdown of the national provider?
Cedric Borland,
"As far as I can recall, the receivership made several comments in the past that if they are unable to meet the requirements, unable to bring in the finance that they desire, at some point and time they'll have to close down so we had looked at it as inevitable, it was going to happen."
Inevitable then and apparently irreversible now - but Brackett says things will, in fact things must, get better.
Cedric Borland,
"I like to tell the public that we are fully committed, the Department and the Board are fully committed to make sure that every single person who wants to travel, that transportation will be there. It will not be as smooth as it used to be in very good days but it might even be smoother than it was last year."
Of course comparing one year's crisis to another year's crisis is hardly consolation for commuters who just want to get to their locations safely and on time.
That audit team has been commissioned by the DFC, the Atlantic Bank, and the Novelo brothers. Reportedly the team found less than 40 roadworthy buses. Tonight, those Novelo brothers have back all seven busses that had been impounded at the order of Chairman Borland's National Transport Board. Borland insists that despite the release those charges stand, which we'll call a well meant suggestion, because the matter of charges is ultimately the DPP's decision.
Whatever the case, the Novelo brothers' National Transport fleet is now entirely restored and running to the west and the south. As Borland mentioned in his remarks, government continues negotiations to find a stable, long-term solution. We do know those negotiations are underway, but at this point, there's no indication of what that final arrangement will entail or who will be involved.
