News that bus operators across the country were seriously considering strike action because they weren’t making enough off their runs to cover costs came as no surprise to commuters. While no study has been done to find out how much the pandemic negatively affected the earnings of bus operators, most believe it has been considerable. A falloff in the number of commuters is only one of two hits bus operators have taken. They’ve also been hit hard by the rising cost of fuel at the pumps.
Recently, the price of crude oil spiked significantly after the world’s most heavily nuclear-armed country, Russia, viciously invaded its neighbor, Ukraine. Today, the price of diesel, the fuel of industry, is well above $13 per gallon, and bus operators, who in fact were being crushed at the pumps even before the change of government in November 2020, can’t handle the pain anymore, hence their decision to cry out for relief.
The president of the Belize Bus Association, Mr. Thomas Shaw, said that in meetings with the Ministry of Transport (MoT) their discussions revolved around the government subsidizing fuel costs for bus operators, or giving them the go-ahead to increase the fare for commuters. Reports are that the MoT is leaning in the direction of higher bus fares.
Government’s take from fuel taxes has never been so good, and with our country still heavily indebted after two years in the grip of the pandemic, GOB is probably tempted to milk the pumps a while longer. The taxes collected off fuel are incredibly important for GOB, but there’s just so much you can get from people who are struggling financially. If GOB supports having commuters reach deeper into their pockets to travel on public buses, it might be miscalculating the level of pain out here. It is both bus operators and commuters that are strained past the breaking point.
As PM Briceño pointed out in his budget speech on Tuesday, things were bad in Belize before his government took office. While all the numbers point to an economy on the rebound, we are not yet back to where we were prior to the pandemic. There was much suffering in our land pre-pandemic, and since then our deprivation has increased. An estimated 60 % of Belizeans are living in poverty at this time, and that means that six out of ten Belizeans are counting pennies, not dollars. These are very hard times.
It is very rough out here, and it could get a lot worse quickly if this war in the Baltics isn’t over soon. The fallout from raising bus fares would be varied and plentiful, and the thousands who will feel their pockets pinched even further are mostly students, small entrepreneurs, and government workers. Bus owners will be happy, but it mightn’t be for long. Raising bus fares means there’ll be more hitchhiking on the highways, more people camping at their work sites instead of going home, more people dropping out of the work force, increased cost of the produce of our small entrepreneurs. In these times of high gas prices, the bus fares should encourage folks to park their cars.
Presently, the MoT is on a mission to get bus operators to improve their fleets. Efficient, comfortable and affordable transportation of Belizeans to their work sites all across this country is critical to our development, but that goal won’t be realized if the industry isn’t profitable. GOB has a number of options to satisfy bus operators; increasing bus fares shouldn’t be one of them.
With raising bus fares off the table, one option is for GOB to subsidize the bus operators. This is the quickest solution; it could be done with the stroke of a pen. The GOB would give up some tax, and it would have to have strict controls so that bus operators don’t abuse the assistance.
The other option is to set up a small refinery. Highly regarded engineer/economist, Mr. Bill Lindo on his blog published on March 12, 2022 said that we could easily bring down the cost of diesel in Belize. Mr. Lindo says at this time we are still pumping 450 barrels of crude oil from the earth daily, so all we need to do is “stop exportation and set up a small refinery to take out the diesel and export the residue as it’s not economical to refine gasoline and other products.”
In 2011 the GOB busted a man who was producing diesel and kerosene from crude oil taken from two small “wells” on a property in Belmopan. The Amandala, in the story, “Secret oil refinery busted in Belmopan”, said that a 56-year-old Cuban mechanic, Roberto Igarza Velasquez, who was in Belize illegally, had “been charged by Belmopan police for embarking on a project without applying to the Environmental Department, and also, for carelessly causing a disaster.” A source told the Amandala that there was always “heavy vehicular traffic” at the site, and that police sources said “kerosene and diesel were found in industrial quantities.”
The UDP, which formed governments in 2008, 2012, and 2015, made us many promises, and in the party’s 2012 manifesto we were told that if the party had a victory at the polls the country would get an oil refinery. Then PM, Dean Barrow promised that the party would get on with this project as quickly as possible, and that we would be producing both diesel and gasoline from the crude oil produced by BNE. The UDP government of 2012 to 2015 didn’t deliver on that promise. It easily could have if it had confined itself to producing diesel.
Belize has enough small oil wells, so it doesn’t need BNE oil. There are many limitations being a small nation with only 400,000 people, but there are advantages too, one of which is that to satisfy our needs for diesel we don’t need a big refinery. A refinery just to supply diesel to bus operators shouldn’t cost a fortune.
Our elected representatives —our government, of, by, for the people —are at this time discussing/negotiating with bus operators to find the best way forward for this critical industry. Behind closed doors we don’t know all that they are discussing. One option that shouldn’t be on the table is raising bus fares.
If GOB can’t sustain subsidizing the price of diesel to bring it down to where bus operators are making sufficient profits to cover their costs, including maintaining their buses so that commuters are transported safely and comfortably, maybe they have to talk to Mr. Lindo. Or do it like the Americans, who have sent an emissary to Venezuela. We should send to Cuba, for a man named Mr. Velasquez.