2 months ago
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The Belize Bus Owners Association (BBA) is no longer rejecting the idea of a national bus company and is now only asking the Ministry of Transportation for more information. In a 3-page release sent to our newsroom today, the BBA wrote that it is now embracing the need for modernization of the industry which would uplift the national transport standards. What it is currently, uncertain of, however, is the idea of a Public Private Partnership (PPP). Minister of Transportation, Dr. Louis Zabaneh, spoke with Love News where he confirmed that the details are being gathered to present to the bus operators for further clarification. He also noted, that the feedback from the BBA is refreshing, and that the initial rejection of the PPP may have been premature.
Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Transport: “In our last meeting that we had, it was agreed that there would be a subcommittee formed which was done and that subcommittee would select auditing firms that would go and do the valuation of the individual operators, that has been done. On Monday, the auditors will be meeting with us so that we could discuss with them the terms of reference on how they will go forward to conduct that evaluation. And so, in fact, this is precisely what we’re doing. So for them to put that in their release I’m not quite sure what was the purpose when they are aware, in fact, that this is what we’re actually doing during the months of June and July. So I certainly welcome again that they are saying that they now support the modernization of the bus transportation that services the highways of Belize and that’s most welcome. I believe that in the coming weeks and months that we will get closer together to where we need to get which is really for us to have a clear understanding of how the PPP will operate with more concrete figures that will be coming from this valuation that is being done.”
In its 3-page release from the BBA, the group highlighted the reasons why the small bus operators are finding it challenging to upgrade its fleet. Among the factors noted are the low bus fares charged, the unfair competition across the country as well as the inapplicability of the economies of scale on the Belize backdrop. With all that said, however, Dr. Zabaneh noted that if the PPP were to materialize, costs would be lower, so there would be no need to raise rates.
Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Transport: “They brought this up on a couple of occasions and we have not in any way from the government side spoken to that point of raising bus rates. On the contrary what we have done is to point out that consolidation will lead to economies of scale that will reduce costs and that if we have reduced costs then there is less pressure to increase rates. However, what they seem to be claiming, and by the way I must make it clear that they continue to say that they are representing 31 of the bus operators when in the last meeting it was clear that the largest bus operators are fully supporting the concept and the proposal that we’ve placed on the table. So when the BBA speaks they make it appear like if it’s every single one of their members that is in support of their press release when that is not the case. And this particular point of economies of scale is where it is clear that the larger operators in particular that support the proposal understand fully what economies of scale mean. It means that when you consolidate into a larger operation that then you’re able to purchase your inputs at discounted prices and so your overall costs go down. You can buy fuel in bulk. You can buy tires in bulk. You can buy your springs and your fan belts, et cetera, et cetera, in bulk. And by doing so you can reduce your costs. When your costs are lower, then there is less need for you to be requesting an increase in fares. So this is a win-win for our, especially our commuters, who as they correctly point out are having difficulty in making the fares that are actually in place today.”
The BBA represents 31 licensed private sector bus operators.
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