And for some Stann Creek residents as well as those communities along the Coastal highway, they will finally have access to public transportation.
True enough, the highway cost 158 million dollars to pave - but the communities along it couldn't even get a bus run. Well, that's changing now.
Starting next month there will be a specific run starting in Santa Cruz and then traveling through the Coastal Road and ending in Belize City. In the afternoon, the run returns to Stann Creek.
The deputy chief transport officer explained that it wasn't easy finding an operator for the run since there have been challenges before.
Peter Williams, Deputy Chief Transport Officer
"This is something that has been in the pipeline for quite some time in regards to government's position to introduce this service in that area. The issue had always been finding or having a provider that would be able to meet that demand because it's no easy feat to be able to operate in that area for several factors and so we received the application by the operator and it was approved by the transport board and we believe that finally we'll be able to service those communities that have long been left without any reasonable access to public transportation and so this is now that starting point that we were hoping that people within those communities would be able to appreciate the service that is being offered and to provide the support to the operator because in the past we've had different operators providing the service in those communities but what used to happen is that the operators would complain that their bus is being damaged right, you have persons tearing up the seats, fighting with the conductors, not wanting to pay their fares, so these are some of the things that have contributed to why nobody wanted to operate in those zones and so thankfully we have a person from within the community who has offered to provide that service and so that application was approved primarily based on the fact that it does not clash with any operator in that area so this one is going to leave from Santa Cruz Village in the Stann Creek District and it's going to go to Dangriga Town and it's going to make it's way through the Coastal Plain Highway servicing all those communities in that area and when it arrives at the La Demcoracia junction with the George Price Highway, it is going to operate as an express run because we have several highway runs that traverse between Belize City and Belmopan and we don't want this bus to come and infringe on those operators and so it's going to be a regular bus from Santa Cruz all the way up to La Democracia junction and from that point on to Belize City, it's going to operate as an express run."
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