Dollar Vans Will Soon Costs Three Dollars!

Rising fuel prices are hitting Belize’s transportation sector hard, and commuters are feeling the impact. On May fourth, new bus fares rolled out nationwide after a dramatic blockade at the Tower Hill Bridge in Orange Walk forced emergency talks between bus operators, the Belize Bus Association, the Ministry of Transport, and the Prime Minister’s Office. The deal brought traffic back to normal, but at a cost. Short bus routes now cost up to fifty cents more, while longer rides have climbed by as much as a dollar. Today in Belize City, dollar van operators shared how they’re navigating the rising fuel costs, and what it means for the thousands of commuters who rely on them daily. News Five’s Britney Gordon reports.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Gas prices are up again, and Belize’s transportation industry is taking a hit.  Earlier this month, independent bus operators were given the green light to raise fares due to the steady rise in the cost of fuel. Now, dollar vans are following suit with a dollar increase to adult fares. Belize Dollar Van Taxi Association President, Richard Swift, explained that, effective June first, adult fares will rise from two dollars to three.

 

Richard Swift, President, Belize Dollar Van Taxi Association

“The reaction from most of the members that we are taking lick out here, due to the high gas every time it’s going up, and it’s sadly that we need we need to pair up the $2 to $3 now, no? Mainly it’s because of the gas fuel that went up.”

 

Currently, a gallon of regular gas costs nearly fifteen dollars. According to Swift, it’s a price drivers are barely able to manage.

 

Britney Gordon

“How often do you fill up your tank?”

 

Richard Swift

“Every day. Every day I put in used to put in one hundred. Now it’s one hundred and fifty I have to put a day to sustain, up and down and up and down, so I’m up like fifty right now.”

 

Longtime dollar van driver Sherriff Salau says that while he understands that some customers won’t be excited about the increase in fares, he hopes they will understand the necessity of the price.

 

Sherriff Salau, Dollar Van Driver

“We have been telling them before we started the implement that we are running this thing at the most, that it’s going to three dollars. Many of them agree that maybe they’ll be walking, maybe they’ll increase their bicycle use. They will be using their bicycle or be walking. That’s a lot of many of them say.”

 

Swift says another issue plaguing dollar van drivers is non-members of the association picking up passengers along the route. He says the association is in discussions with the Belize City Council to manage the issue.

 

Richard Swift

“We’re trying to have everybody upgrade their van. If you notice a lot of us are really upgraded. You have a lot of people are not part of us just come in with whatever van and they start running. So that we can control who can control is the city council. Like I said, if they come and dialogue with us it could go smoother. We could try manage with the two dollars with this high prices, but if not, then we gotta go up, we gotta go up.”

 

The Association plans to continue discussions to better improve service and find solutions to cope with the challenges affecting Belize’s transportation industry. Britney Gordon for News Five.

 

The association notes that the fare for children will remain the same.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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