New Bus Terminal Chairs Already Breaking

Well, that didn’t take long. Just a week after brand-new chairs were installed at the Belize City Bus Terminal, one of them has already broken; and now, questions are swirling about whether the Ministry of Transport got what it paid for. But CEO Chester Williams isn’t having it. He says the chairs aren’t of a low quality at all, and instead, he’s calling on commuters to treat the new additions with a little more care. After all, they’re meant to make the wait a bit more comfortable.

 

Chester Williams, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Transport

“One chair seemingly had broken, according to the terminal manager the commuters come and slam themselves into the chair. They do all kinds of things with the chairs. We have to find a way that we can perhaps regulate or control to a greater extent the use of the chairs. Maybe putting some signs up in the terminal and say to people do not stand in the chairs or do not do this or that. I must say those chairs are not of inferior quality. Those chairs are of great quality. These are the same type of chairs used in the Maya Island Air in San Pedro. They have been there for many years and they have no difficulty with them. They are complete metal and they have the sponge or the padded aspect where people sit and rest their backs to make it comfortable. When we brought these chairs, we had two other options, and of the three options, this one was of the better quality. So we tried to look at the ones that were more sturdy to be able to purchase. We did that. We are still seeing people are damaging them. We have to take better care and I want to call on the commuters. What we are doing for the terminal is for their benefit. It is to make their experience better and we must all have civic pride. These things belong to us, purchased from public funds. If we don’t take care of them they are not going to last and we go back to where we use to be.”