Belizean commuters will no longer be able to simply waltz into bus terminals and jump on the next bus leaving the station. Yesterday, a ticketing system, mandated by law, was put into effect in order to maintain some semblance of order on public buses. So how has this new system been working out so far? Courtney Menzies has this story.
It's the end of an era for commuters who utilize public buses. No more will persons be able to arrive at the bus terminal and simply jump on a bus to their destination.
Commuters must now abide by a ticketing system aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19 by ensuring that there is no overcrowding on buses. While it took a pandemic and intervention from the Department of Transport to implement this system, it is long overdue and is expected to make for easier transportation in the future. Yesterday was the first day that the system was used, and one of the owners of the BBOC bus line, Ewart Metzgen, told us that for the most part, things went swimmingly.
Voice of: Ewart Metzgen, Member/Owner, BBOC
"For the first day yesterday, I was at the Belize City bus terminal and it started out kind of a bit confusing but after a couple minutes everybody got themselves together and the different operators, two at a time, got into the little booth that is there and the transport officers were there to ensure that everyone who were supposed to be in those booths selling tickets were there and it was done in an orderly manner. On the part of what I saw on the BBOC, the guys that worked yesterday, it went smoothly."
"Earlier I was reading though on whatsapp on a chat group we have with some of our people, it seems that there's a problem at the Orange Walk bus terminal though with enforcement. That buses are still going in there, other operators going in there like for instance the Sarteneja bus was allowed to go in there not having any tickets, any ticket book at all, not selling tickets to passengers and stuff like that."
Enforcement is not the only issue that arose with this new system, though. Since it is relatively new, hiccups are expected but what the Transport Department did not account for is several bus companies needing to sell tickets at the same time.
Voice of: Andy Shaw, President, BBA
"When it comes to peak hours, well basically they were talking about social distance and all the rest of it and most of the operators you will find out that sometimes you have three or four bus companies are leaving at the same time and it's only one booth. And each operator, sometimes it's only 15 minutes, and the other operator doesn't have enough time to go into that booth bc the booth is small to sell their tickets so this is something that I need to bring up with the department because it's on the peak hours it's a problem."
Another issue has to do the workload placed on the conductor who now, not only has to ensure that the bus and all its passengers have been properly sanitized, but who also must now sell tickets.
Voice of: Andy Shaw, President, BBA
"From my point of view it's hard for the conductor. If you only have one run it's not bad but for an operator that has six, seven, eight runs it's hard for the conductor to sanitize the bus, sell tickets, and still be taking care of the passengers. I think we need to come together and find a way out, some sort of solution, like maybe they get one person and everybody chip in and pay that person, share the cost, and to have that person sell the tickets for all the different bus companies."
"Some of the operators, they say they can't afford to put an agent at the moment cause it's a bit slow and that actually gonna cut into their income. They have already been complaining about the books because for fifty books is like $260."
According to Metzgen, some drivers do take on the responsibility of sanitization while conductors are selling tickets. On the part of the commuters, confusion sets in since they are not sure which conductor is for which bus line. Metzgen mentioned that there needs to be a way commuters can quickly identify the conductors and be able to choose which bus line they want to take. Other than that, Metzgen told us that he believes this will set the stage for a much smoother process.
Ewart Metzgen, Member/Owner, BBOC
"Like with everything else in Belize, when things are being implemented for the betterment of themselves there will be people that will grumble about it but on my part most of the people I saw on the terminal in Belize City yesterday, they were okay with it."
The president of the BBA, Thomas Andy Shaw, appealed to the government for some sort of assistance, whether in terms of fuel allowances or tax exemptions for parts, since bus runs have decreased significantly since the start of the pandemic.
We note that COVID concerns with commuters crushing against each other to get into buses was a major driver in this new requirement - which should ensure a seat for each commuter. It came into law in August.
