National Bus Company Moves Toward Online Ticket Purchases

As the National Bus Company works to strengthen its finances, online ticket purchases are another area of focus. At yesterday’s press conference in Belmopan, Special Projects Officer Louis Verde explained the ticketing platform and the process passengers will soon be able to use to purchase their bus tickets online.  

Luis Verde, Special Projects Officer: “One of the ideas that we’ve had and it’s becoming a reality very soon is purchasing through WhatsApp. WhatsApp in itself is not just a technology to chat. There are several different powerful features that WhatsApp has where you can book a ticket. For us it will be to book a ticket, to check schedules, to even get notifications as to what your bus is doing, if it’s delayed it’s going to notify you. Essentially you would choose your location if you’re traveling from Belize you put it to Benque Viejo, the date that you want your ticket for, passengers and your contact number. And then just this one simple step is everything that we need to proceed. Final result would be that where you get a QR code that the conductors would be scanning upon entering the buses. And that’s it. You don’t need another app. You don’t need to go to a website. It’s just the NBC number you go on your contact. And this also works as well for if you purchase a regular ticket for a regular bus. So on its way it’s gonna inform you the bus is coming, it’s on its way. So instead of having to wonder or standing outside in the sun for a whole hour thinking your bus is coming, you know it exactly a couple minutes before the bus is coming so you can be there waiting.”

The push for electronic ticketing follows concerns raised by Minister of Transportation Dr. Louis Zabaneh about revenue losses within the industry. In May, Zabaneh told Love News that collecting cash fares without issuing tickets makes it difficult for companies to reconcile passenger numbers with the money received.  He argued that a structured ticketing system is essential to reducing opportunities for theft and strengthening the NBC’s sustainability. He had also indicated that the reform is intended to provide more reliable passenger data to support the planning and management of bus services.