Court Awards $60,000 to Bus Operator Hernan Serrano but Permit Still Withheld

Hernan Serrano, proprietor of Serrano’s Bus Line was vindicated by the High Court and awarded sixty thousand dollars in compensatory damages almost a month ago but tonight  he’s yet to receive a new road permit. The High Court overturned a 20230 decision by the Transport Board that denied Serrano the renewal of a road service permit for his bus operations.  The court, led by Justice M. Javed Mansoor, found that the Transport Board violated his constitutional rights by refusing to grant him a fair hearing.  Serrano, who has operated his bus service on the route from the Milpa Site Area to the Belize City bus terminal since 2015, had his renewal application denied by the Transport Board in an emergency meeting on May 11, 2023. 

The Board cited repeated infractions and public safety concerns, a decision the court found to be in violation of procedural fairness.  Justice Mansoor highlighted that Serrano was not notified of the emergency meeting and was therefore denied the opportunity to respond to the allegations. The court also noted that the Board failed to comply with Regulation 207, which requires public notice and hearings for permit renewals. The judge also cited that the infractions committed occurred after the permit had already expired and were not properly investigated.  The ruling also addressed the unequal treatment of bus operators, with the judge noting that a competitor, Central Transit, was granted the route despite having similar infractions. LOVE News caught up with Transport Minister Louis Zabaneh who weighed in on the decision of the High Court.

Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Transportation: “Certainly we respect the court’s decision and we understand that when that occurred a number of years ago, in fact, a procedure was not followed. What should have happened was that the operator should have been given an explanation and an opportunity to defend the concerns that the transport board had. That was not done and the court ruled as it did. So we are ensuring now that the transport board does what it has to do properly because we have so many issues that we have to address and it’s incumbent upon us and the transport board to make sure that we do the things the right way so that we can try to bring more order within the sector.”

The court has directed the Transport Board to properly consider Serrano’s application and barred them from awarding the route to any other operator until the matter is properly heard.