Judge Quashes Transport Board’s Decision in Bus Permit Battle

In a major legal victory for a local bus operator, the High Court of Belize has ruled that the Transport Board acted unfairly when it refused to renew Hernan Serrano’s Road service permit. Serrano, who ran Serrano’s Bus Service, had been operating buses along the Milpa Site Area to Belize City route for eight years. But when his permit expired in April 2023, the Transport Board declined to renew it, citing a string of alleged infractions. Serrano fired back, claiming he was never given a fair chance to respond to the accusations. Justice Javed Mansoor agreed with Serrano. In a detailed judgment, the court found that the Transport Board failed to follow basic principles of natural justice and procedural fairness. Serrano wasn’t notified about the emergency meeting where the decision was made, nor was he given an opportunity to defend himself. The judge noted that while the board claimed the decision was urgent and based on public safety concerns, especially incidents involving Serrano’s buses on May eighth and nineth, there was no proper investigation into what actually happened. In fact, some of the evidence used against Serrano included unsigned statements and unverified complaints. The court also criticized the Transport Board’s handling of the situation as disproportionate. Instead of suspending the permit temporarily or conducting a thorough inquiry, the board rushed to cancel Serrano’s operations, while later approving a permit for a competing bus company, Central Transit, to take over the same route. Serrano’s wife and manager, Tenisha Serrano, testified that they had made multiple complaints against Central Transit, but received no response. The court found this unequal treatment troubling, especially since both operators had been warned about similar infractions. The court issued several orders: quashed the Transport Board’s decision not to renew Serrano’s permit; ordered the board to properly reconsider his application; prohibited the board from issuing a permit for Serrano’s route to anyone else until his application is heard; declared that Serrano’s constitutional rights to natural justice and equal protection under the law were violated; awarded Serrano sixty thousand dollars in vindicatory damages. The court’s ruling is a firm reminder that fairness and due process can’t be sidelined. Even in cases involving public safety, authorities must ensure that individuals are given a fair chance to respond before decisions are made that affect their livelihood.