by Kristen Ku

BELIZE CITY, Tues. Apr. 11, 2023

On Thursday of last week, the Minister of Transport, Hon. Rodwell Ferguson, announced that two Central American bus lines — Fuente del Norte (FDN) from Guatemala, and Autobuses de Oriente (ADO) from Mexico — will be allowed to enter Belize to transport tourists both into the country and across the border.

Ferguson told reporters that discussions with these bus lines have been taking place since last August when they approached Ferguson with the request to resume their runs within our borders; however, Minister Ferguson said that his requirement has always been that Belize operators have similar access to runs within the borders of the countries in which those bus lines are based: Mexico and Guatemala.

Ferguson reportedly made numerous trips to Guatemala and Mexico to attend meetings and engage in discussions about how this agreement could work amongst the three parties.

And finally, 8 months later, and with the approval of the Cabinet, FDN and ADO are set to once again carry out certain runs within the country and to transport tourists from within Belize — with Fuente del Norte carrying out one run per day, while ADO’s schedule in Belize, according to Ferguson, “eventually will be three runs per day from Mexico side.”

Ferguson told local reporters that in no way are these new runs a threat to our local bus operators, as those buses will cater specifically to those who want to travel out of the country.

“They will stop at specific locations but not to pick up any Belizeans; unless you are a Belizean and you want to go to Merida, you can catch a bus from a particular location to go across Corozal, not to stop in Corozal, so it will not affect our local operators, “ he said.

Belizean operators will also be allowed to transport passengers into Guatemala and Mexico. However, when they enter Guatemala they can only travel up to Flores, Peten; while in Mexico, they can only travel a maximum distance of 20 kilometers into the country.

“That’s what the Mexican government said. We can’t go beyond 20 kilometers. They have a big economy; we are a very small economy. They dictate the pace; they’re a very big economy; we are trying to figure out how we can increase our tourism numbers in this country,” explained Ferguson.

The official announcement was made on Wednesday, April 12, via a press release from the Department of Transport which informed the public that, “ADO will be providing services from Belize City to Merida and Cancun starting on the proposed date of May 1st, 2023. Fuente Del Norte will be providing services from Belize City to Flores and Guatemala City starting on the proposed date of April 21st, 2023.”

And, as part of the effort to fulfill the government’s promise to safeguard the business of local operators, Minister Ferguson has put in place strict regulations for both foreign companies.

Firstly, they must obtain a road service permit which will be issued for every run per day. The fee for these permits must be paid in full before operations begin; failure to do so would result in immediate cancellation of the permit, or failure to present the permit at a checkpoint would result in operators being fined $500.

Secondly, these bus lines must have a manifest of only ticketed passengers before crossing the border; no pick-ups of local commuters are allowed.

Both lines will commence their journey from the Belize City terminal; however, FDN will be granted additional designated stops in Belize City, as well as in San Ignacio, apart from the terminal spaces.