By Aaron Humes: At Tuesday’s meeting, Cabinet approved a new tiered fare adjustment system for the National Highway public transportation sector in response to the Belize Bus Association’s (BBA) request for a more consistent pricing structure across the country. This avoids a national strike that likely would have taken effect after the BBA claimed they had reached their breaking point.
Starting April 24, the system will categorize services into three distinct fare options: Regular Service will charge up to $0.18 per mile, Express Service will charge up to $0.20 per mile, and a newly introduced Premium Service will provide an upgraded travel option at a rate of up to $0.22 per mile. All fares will be rounded to the nearest $0.25 to facilitate ease of payment for commuters. The Premium Service will be characterized by buses that are no older than seven years, equipped with air conditioning, comfortable seating, free Wi-Fi, and providing non-stop travel between major municipalities.
Dr Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Transport, told reporters after the meeting that the adjustments come as bus operators have long expressed the need for fare increases to keep pace with rising fuel prices: “…their argument has always been that the fares needed adjustment for a number of years. And so, you know, in the interest of addressing the fact that fuel prices have gone up, cabinet felt it proper. to offer them these adjustments in prices per mile…the operators have told us that in discussions with their commuters, that their commuters understand that they’re having a difficult time to the extent that they said that they would have to cease operations. So they have convinced us that in their discussions with commuters, that commuters understand that they have to have some inputs to address the increase in fuel prices.”
Phillip Jones, President of the BBA, expressed gratitude for the Cabinet’s decision. “…this is basically a price alignment. We don’t see it as an increase, but some will take it as an increase because it’s a little bit more than what they are usually paying. But due to the fact that we understand the industry is primarily focused on the commuters that needs to travel and use the service on a daily basis a costly one. So we have tried our best to minimize the impact on them in terms of raising fares,” he stated.
The post Cabinet approves tiered fare adjustment for national highway public transportation appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Aaron Humes: At Tuesday’s meeting, Cabinet approved a new tiered fare adjustment system for the National Highway public transportation sector in response to the Belize Bus Association’s (BBA) request for a more consistent pricing structure across the country. This avoids a national strike that likely would have taken effect after the BBA claimed they
The post Cabinet approves tiered fare adjustment for national highway public transportation appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
