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And one more thing that can’t become the new normal is the disruption of regular bus service.

From last night, the news went out that several of the bus lines running to and from northern Belize were suddenly suspending all operations until further notice. Why?  Well, they say it’s social distancing, but we’ll guess that it could also have a little to do with their bottom line - because it’s not easy to make money off a bus with 25 passengers. 

But whatever the reason, the problem is that they only gave a few hours’ notice to thousands of Belizeans who rely daily on public transportation to commute from their homes in the north to their workplaces in the Belize district and beyond. 

That forced an immediate reaction from the Department of Transport, which has to ensure that public transportation is working as effectively as possible.

We understand that the Transport officials called an impromptu meeting with the bus owners, including the President of the Belize Bus Association. They held extended discussions to find out what compromises can be arrived at so that some form of public transportation is available to the commuters.

This afternoon, we spoke with the BBA president via telephone, and he shared a few details about the bus situation as it currently stands:

Thomas Shaw - President, Belize Bus Association
"Most of the operators like Tillett, Morales, Valencia, they had actually suspended all of their runs this morning. But, that was without consultation with the Department of Transport. So, I was called in this morning. We just got out of a meeting with the CEO and the Chairlady of the Board. [The concern] was that they suspended the runs and the commuters were not informed. The department has a great concern, and do agree with the measures that they are taking. But, the Government did not call a state of emergency for the entire country in terms of a shutdown. Yes, there is the case out at the Caye, and they’re trying to contain it, but life goes on as usual. Banks are opened. Government offices are opened, and if you just suspend all the runs like then commuters will be put at a disadvantage. So, the meeting today was basically to try to regulate and to stagger the runs. The operators are not making any money out there as we speak. So, what we did we got in touch with most of the operators, and let them give us a schedule, what would be feasible. They’ll be sending out a press release as well, in terms of the new schedule. In other words, if you have 6 runs, maybe they cut it down to 3. They’ll be asking commuters to wear a mask, the drivers and conductors to use gloves, sanitize their buses daily at each point."

Reporter
"What should commuters expect tomorrow, when trying to get to work, for those people who are still working?"

Thomas Shaw
"Well, those who are still working, the Department of Transport has already put things into place. We had made calls verbally because the operators who are suspending their runs. We called one operator specifically, and he said personally that he’s not going to run. The Department of Transport has already identified an operator to put into that slot until further notice. So, everything goes on as normal. It’s just that the schedules will be different. So, they’ll be sending out a press release to publish the new schedules."

Up until this evening, we still had not received official details from the Ministry of Transport about those new bus schedules that commuters need to abide by.

We have seen a Westline bus Schedule for Tomorrow. Passengers commuting from Belize City Benque, there will be a 6 a.m run, and a 6:30 run that goes to Belmopan. Other runs include runs at 7 a.m, 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., and 5 p.m.

For passengers traveling from Benque to Belize City, there will be a bus available at 3 a.m., 5:15 a.m., 5:45 a.m., 6:15 a.m, 6:45 a.m., 7:15 a.m. 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.