Amandala Online
Bus "agitation at the Western Border"
Posted: 27/03/2009 - 09:48 AM
Author: Adele Ramos
For several years it has been common practice for Central American tourist buses to traverse the roads between Guatemala, Belize and Mexico, with buses making stops in Belize, picking up tourists and taking them to other stops on their route.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"(T)he Department of Transport implemented a sudden blockade, barring the buses from crossing both northern and western borders to pick up tourists here in Belize.
Chief Transport Officer, Candelaria Saldivar, told Amandala today that Linea Dorado (which operates in Guatemala and Mexico), San Juan Express (a Guatemalan line) and ADO bus services (originating out of Mexico) had been picking up passengers in Belize at San Ignacio, Belize City (at the Belize Water Taxi Terminal), Orange Walk and Corozal, when only operators with permits issued by the department can legally do so."
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"The issue that the DOT is taking with the buses is that they have been picking up passengers in Belize even though they don’t have valid road service permits, and they have been doing so for several years, claiming that they don’t need a permit to come because of a Mundo Maya agreement, which Saldivar says the Belize Government does not have a copy of.
However, there are concerns that even if there were such an agreement, it is not reciprocal, because Belize does not get the same privileges in Guatemala and Mexico as buses from those countries have in Belize. "
