Gales Point Residents Want Public Transportation in Village

Nestled between Belize City and Dangriga, Gales Point Village is a unique gem with the sea on one side and a lagoon on the other. However, for villagers who need to travel and don’t own a car, getting around has become a real challenge. The public bus that used to connect them to Dangriga and Belize City no longer passes through the village. Before the highway upgrade, a dedicated bus operator served the community, but he stopped, and no one else stepped in to fill the gap. Marion Ali spoke with the village chairman and a resident to hear their concerns about this issue. Here’s the story.

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

Gales Point Village is facing a serious public transportation issue, and the residents are fed up with waiting for the Ministry of Transport to step in and fix it.

 

Kevin Andrewin, Concerned Resident, Gales Point Village

“People still have to hike out Moning, jva, and Gas Point, which is.  And you know that because I know no ministers and nobody would want to have their daughter on a Sunday hike.”

 

Kevin Andrewin is a prominent member of the village. He mentions that the issue has impacted everyone, from shoppers to students, even though there’s a school bus available.

 

Kevin Andrewin

“Children population is growing  and the more the children population is growing,  the bus run will become a problem because the sixth time student will not have space on the bus run. They will have to continue hitching, right. You don’t want to hear a six farm student dead because dehn di hitchhike. Because after they graduate from fourth farm, the bus run, I mean one bus to run on that where they gave me some flowers, which is good.  And that our benefit will look upon.  Yes. The school bus, but then still the school bus will have to get bigger.”

 

Village Chairman Jason Altschaft told News Five that the problem goes back a few years, when there was only a dirt road as the Coastal Highway. Even though the new paved highway makes it easier to reach the village, there’s still no public transportation available to get there.

 

Jason Altschaft, Chairman, Gales Point Village

“We had somebody that was doing the bus run when it was a dirt road and he was preparing to do it when it became a paved road, but unfortunately politics changed and therefore he didn’t get the – didn’t get the contract. The man that did it – tried a few days here and there, but he found that it wasn’t going to be profitable for him to drive his bus down there.”

 

Altschaft shared that when the bus service stopped, he reached out to the Minister of Transport, Rodwell Ferguson. The only reassurance they received was a promise that a bus would soon be passing through the village. But that was several months ago.

 

Jason Altschaft

“I’ve definitely reached out to minister Ferguson and talked to him personally at least three or four times. It’s always encouraging But nothing has still happened. Now. We have the same guy that wanted to do the bus run before but they haven’t they haven’t selected him. He’s willing he’s got a bus.”

 

The owner of Ritchie’s Bus Service, Dalmon Ritchie, told News Five that he had discussed the matter with the villagers, but he is still contemplating applying for a permit to run through the village.

 

Voice of: Dalmon Ritchie, Owner, Ritchie’s Bus Service

“When I met a certain person, you know, in the transport department, and they said that they don’t want one. They want newer buses, you know, like maybe some 2003, 2004, you know.  So I never pushed that issue there harder than where I am today, you know. But I don’t want to apply for the Coast Task Force.

I wouldda want do it.”

 

Minister Ferguson mentioned that no bus operators have applied to run the route yet, echoing Andrewin’s concerns about the profitability of making daily trips through the village.

 

Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Transport

“I understand the concern that the people of New England and Spain, that they want to reach at a certain point. We are asking people to apply to see how profitable the world will be.  But because of the class of fuel, people are reluctant to wanna have most, some, we got to listening to the,  but again, it’s a matter forr us to explore. So we are going to explore it again and see if there’s any possibilities. I give you at least two weeks to a month to figure out if we can find somebody who have interest to run through the coastal highway. We have no objection, Mr. Ritchie applies.  But again, from December twenty twenty four, we are asking that the buses not two thousand and twenty two bus, but because the current bus is one and a half, so we should meet the criteria and we apply the above action.”

 

Marion Ali for News Five.