BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Oct. 29, 2020– Disturbing photos of commuters crowding the entrance of a bus door and terminals across the country surfaced on social media earlier this week.
The outright disregard for COVID-19 prevention protocols and the apparent risk of a mass spread of the virus triggered the Department of Transport to enforce the ticket system provided for in Statutory Instrument No.136 of 2020.
Effective November 2, commuters must pre-purchase tickets from the various bus operators at terminals across the country before lining up to board a bus.
A government press release, issued on October 27, reminds bus operators that they are responsible for providing tickets for sale at the bus terminals, and this must be done in just a matter of days to meet the November 2 start date.
In an interview with local media, a member of the Belize Bus Association said that the move is “impractical” and was done without full consultation with the association’s members.
Darren Stuart said,” If the Government of Belize or the Department of Transport cannot cooperate and extend the deadline for the next two weeks, then I can tell you there might not be any public transport come November.”
And while the Government has not budged in the face of a threat by bus operators to strike, the obvious logistical issue and financial burden that implementing this system will present are yet to be seen.
Regulation 15 (4) of SI 136 of 2020 states,” Every person traveling on a bus is required to purchase a ticket which will entitle the holder to queue up, observing social distancing of six feet between persons, for an orderly boarding of the bus.”
This means that persons who usually catch the bus from along the highways will not be able to board public transportation from those areas.
Drivers will also be in breach of the law if they pick up any person without a ticket or if they carry any excess passengers. The Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, has said that his department will be actively working with the Transport Department to ensure these regulations are enforced.
“I do anticipate that we are going to see a reduction in the amount of incidences where buses are concerned, and again, I want to appeal to our people that if you see that the busses are filled to capacity, do not risk your life by becoming a standee on that bus,” Commissioner Williams said.