UDP Says Government’s Bus Strategy Creates Unfair Advantage
Independent bus operators say they are being asked to survive without a safety net, while a government-backed competitor receives valuable public support. The United Democratic Party is accusing the government of tilting the playing field in favor of the National Bus Company, even as private operators face uncertainty over the future of the diesel subsidy. At today’s press conference, UDP Chair Sheena Pitts questioned the transfer of public assets and the granting of tax and duty concessions to a company in which the government holds an interest. She warned that the arrangement could squeeze independent Belizean operators out of the industry, threaten local livelihoods and place more control of the country’s public transportation system in fewer hands.
Sheena Pitts
Sheena Pitts, Chair, United Democratic Party
“The Belize Bus Association says operators have continued absorbing unsustainable diesel costs after a temporary subsidy expired. They wrote to the government before that te- subsidy ended and have repeatedly requested assistance. Government has said it may or may not continue the subsidy. Government made some Belizeans feel like that the bus operators are the problem, that they are greedy, that they are unreasonable. But at the very same time, the government has come to the House with a Public Transportation Investment Bill 2026, which is designed to formalize government investment in the national bus company, transfer public transportation assets, including terminals, to that company, and grant it tax and duty exemptions. That creates a very serious question of fairness, ladies and gentlemen. How can government tell an independent bus operator that the public purse may not be able to support a diesel subsidy while government is simultaneously transferring state assets and granting tax and duty advantages to a company in which government itself hold interest? And we don’t know what interests. This is not a level playing field.”
The UDP supports safer, modern public transportation but says state-backed companies should not receive special treatment.
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