2 weeks ago
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Belizeans who have long struggled with unreliable or hard-to-find public transportation schedules may soon have an easier time planning their journeys, thanks to the work of a young local website developer. Constantine Enriquez has created what could be Belize’s first online national bus schedule application, a tool that is quickly gaining support on social media. Currently in its first phase, the app already contains verified schedules for major operators like ADO, Floralia, and BBOC. Speaking with Love News, Enriquez explained what his inspiration was behind building the application.
Constantine Enriquez, Developer: “This idea actually started out as a project that I had made for myself to rebuild the Department of Transport website. I had went on the internet, on Google or something, to look up bus schedule information and I stumbled upon the website and it was a little bit of, I guess, dilapidated. It wasn’t really being maintained. So I thought, you know, I have a little bit of free time, maybe I could work on rebuilding the website and maybe possibly selling it back to the Department of Transport and see maybe I could make a little money. And during that process while I was rebuilding that website, I kind of came up with this idea that, you know what, since I’m building this website, having a place where somebody could go to check the bus schedules would kind of be an invaluable resource. So that’s when I started on that section. And I kind of completed like a version one, very basic like bus schedule lookup. And then I sort of forgot about it. I got very busy. But over the next few weeks, I kept getting this idea like, you know, I should pursue it. This is a very good idea. It kept coming back into my head. So that’s kind of when I started building the version that I’m working on right now. It’s actually something called a web app. So it’s a website but essentially if you go to the website on a phone, it should give you the option to add an icon to your home screen and then you can essentially use it just like an app, basically. When it launches, I might put it on the Play Store so that it could just be downloaded like a regular app. But these are things that I am actively considering. Or if it really gets popular, I might just turn it into a native app that anybody can just download and they could use it without some of the limitations of a web app. In regards to collaborating with different bus companies some actually have reached out. I know one of the owners of the bus companies commented on my initial post and he actually did reach out to me with schedule information. I welcome any bus company or bus company owner who would like to send me their schedules. That way I can take the data and add it to the app, make it easier for people to find their bus runs. And yeah, I’m open to working either way.”
Enriquez explained that despite his efforts in contacting the Department of Transportation in the past, he was unsuccessful but has felt encouragement since seeing the feedback from locals. In a country where many communities rely heavily on bus transportation for work, school, and travel, this homegrown innovation could transform how Belizeans access transportation. Enriquez went on to explain that his experience in development, is home grown having graduated from the University of Belize with a Bachelors in IT.
Constantine Enriquez, Developer: “I have an associate’s in computer information systems from SJCJC and a bachelor’s in information technology from the University of Belize. My experience with coding is mostly just HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and a little bit of backend in terms of like all the database stuff. I was really overwhelmed to tell you the truth. I’ve kind of been working on this project, I think, like I said for about a month. And when I made the decision to post it to Facebook, I expected maybe about six or seven likes and maybe a few comments from some of my friends in the industry with some suggestions. So I literally, posted it. I left my phone, I left my phone alone went to like bathe or do something. And when I came back, I had a bunch of messages. I had. so many likes and so many friend requests. And just people telling me, you know, this is a good idea. You should get an award, all types of stuff. And to see that Belizeans are actively engaged in wanting more, especially in terms of like advancing technology or building these kinds of platforms that the public can use to do things that was an incredible, incredible encouragement.”
According to an official at the Ministry of Transportation, no one has approached the ministry on support for this application.
English (US) ·