For just over a week the Belize Metro has been running in Belize City, and while Novelo claims his customers are happy with the new service they are offering, his competition, Carlos Lopez, is downright grieved by it.
Lopez claims that the Metro is running on his route—a route he claimed he had to design because transport officials refused to allow him to run in places already serviced by the Novelo company – Belize Intransit Services.
Lopez, the owner of Belize Tropical Tours and Transportation Services, said that he runs on a temporary permit he was given last November. He said that last Monday the Belize Metro began running on a route spanning Buttonwood Bay, Coral Grove and Yarborough, which he said he designed after he was told he could not run on the same routes that the Novelo’s were running.
He told us that he has been in operation for five years, but according to David Novelo, one of the principals of Belize Intransit, Lopez sold out to him in 2002 for $75,000, and promised him that he would not venture back into the business.
Novelo claimed that Lopez had always argued to transport officials that he should be allowed to run in the City, and compete with Novelo’s. He said that the Department of Transport gave Novelo permission, under the Belize Intransit Service, to run throughout the City, and his company does not complain about Lopez running on what he claims are Novelo’s runs, because they are not afraid of the competition.
Relations between the two competing bus operators have become so volatile that both sides have complained of violent machete confrontations and alleged death threats, as well as damage to their buses by the other party.
Lopez said that a Novelo driver once shoved his bus off a bus stop and twice Novelo personnel wrecked his vehicle. Novelo claims that Lopez has gone to the extent of stalking him, and he furthermore claimed that that Lopez broke a glass on one of his buses.
Their latest reported confrontation was last Wednesday. Lopez says that when his brother, Aldoray Lopez, was attacked, he retaliated. Both people involved in the dispute were taken in by police, but Lopez said only his brother was charged.
“I want to know if Novelo and his drivers are above the law,” Lopez asks.
He complains that the laws are not being applied evenly, as whenever a confrontation happens, only his side ends up with charges, and the Novelo side escapes. He also claimed that he is charged for overcrowding, but Novelo is not.
Lopez says that even when he started working as a conductor with the now inoperative Batty’s Brothers 20 years ago, he had the same problems with Novelo’s.
We tried to reach Lopez after our talk with Novelo to get his answer to some of the allegations by Novelo; however, our attempts to reach him at the contact number he had left with us have been futile.
We also tried reaching Chief Transport Officer, Mike Godoy, for comment. However, we have been unable to reach him.
Glenn Tillett, Policy and Planning Officer in the Ministry of Transport, said that Lopez has no exclusive and should not be complaining about the Belize Metro runs. He also said that Belize Intransit, the Novelo company, has a franchise to provide bus services in Belize City dating back to the 1970’s, and while Lopez is complaining of infringements, Lopez himself is infringing.
We have not been able to get an explanation of exactly what enforcement measures are pursued, if any, to diffuse the volatile tensions between Lopez and Novelo.