Students Left in Limbo as Bus Operators Await Government Payments

Three weeks into the new school year, some school bus operators across southern and western Belize say they can no longer afford to keep transporting students without being paid by the Ministry of Education. 

According to some operators, the payment delays have already forced them to suspend their services. The halt in the service has raised concerns for families who depend on government-contracted buses to get their children to school. 

Dalton Ritchie, owner of Ritchie’s Bus Company, says his company has continued operating despite not receiving payment, but has now accumulated more than $3,000 in fuel debt. 

Ritchie’s company transports roughly 50 students using three to four buses. He says he initially relied on credit from fuel stations to keep the buses running, but reached a point where he could no longer take on more debt. 

“Three weeks now since we start, and we not getting no money from them,” Ritchie told News 5. “I was taking credit and I done the past three thousand dollars in a fuel debt. So I said, ‘You know what? I’m gonna have to stop.’”

The company’s previous one-year contract has ended, while a new two-year agreement is still awaiting completion of the approval process. Ritchie said the decision to suspend service came after discussions with other operators facing the same shortfall. 

The Ministry of Education addressed mounting concerns that some school bus routes could be disrupted this week because of outstanding payments. In its Sunday statement, the ministry attributed the delays to the contractual process and said it is working with the Ministry of Finance to facilitate payment. 

On Friday, Education Minister Francis Fonseca said that the government introduced a new process this year requiring school bus contracts to be reviewed by the Contractor General’s office. He said delays in approving the relatively small contracts have affected payments. 

“We’re working through those and I believe that all of those will be resolved over the next few days,” Fonseca said on Friday. 

According to Ritchie, the ministry has advised operators that payments are expected to be processed by midweek. “ But that is just one promise, noh,” he added. “We cannot guarantee that we will get pay.” 

Ritchie says parents and students are now worried about how children will get to school if the buses remain off the road.