New Bus Fares Take Effect Across Belize

Bus commuters across the country are adjusting to new fare structures, as increased bus rates officially took effect today, despite the changes not yet being formally gazette.  Over the weekend, the Ministry of Transportation released a comprehensive twenty-two-page document outlining the revised fares across the country’s major routes, including the western and northern corridors. The new rates establish maximum or “ceiling” prices that bus operators are allowed to charge, with the option to charge less, but not exceed the listed fares. On the western route, for example, commuters traveling from Belize City to Belmopan will now pay up to nine dollars regular and ten dollars express, while those heading further west to San Ignacio will see fares as high as twelve dollars regular and thirteen dollars express. A full trip to Benque Viejo Town is now capped at thirteen dollars regular and fourteen dollars express.  Meanwhile, shorter runs have also seen adjustments. Commuters traveling between villages along the George Price Highway, such as Hattieville, Cotton Tree, and Camalote, will now pay between four and ten dollars depending on distance.  On the northern route, fares from Orange Walk to Corozal are now set at six dollars regular and seven dollars express, while a full trip to the Belize northern border is capped at eight dollars regular and nine dollars express.  While the fare adjustments are already in effect, Love News understands that the Ministry of Transport is still in the process of finalizing the legal framework to have the new rates officially gazette.  The development follows days of intense negotiations between government officials and the Belize Bus Association over rising operational costs. As part of those discussions, government has also moved to cushion the impact on students and families through a targeted fuel subsidy for school bus runs.  According to information released by the Ministry of Education, the subsidy will cover two hundred and seventy-eight school bus runs nationwide, benefiting more than four thousand students and teachers. Under the program, operators will receive a subsidy of three dollars per gallon of fuel, retroactive from April 13 to the end of the current school year. Importantly, there will be no changes to existing school bus contracts.  Officials say the subsidy is calculated using an average fuel consumption rate of seven miles per gallon and standardized route distances. The initiative is expected to cost approximately two hundred and thirty-three thousand, seven hundred and fifty-five dollars and fifty cents over an eleven-week period and will be financed through the Ministry of Education’s recurrent budget.