Novelo’s Terminal Upgrades Begin 

Several amenities are being installed at the Belize City terminal following a commitment from the management team at the Department of Transportation.  Chief Executive Officer, Chester Williams, was at the facility this morning where several waiting chairs were installed along with wall mounted televisions.  According to CEO Williams, he has been taking stock at all the terminals across the country with an aim to improve the services and amenities for commuters.  Accompanied by an architect from the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing, the group carried out a routine assessment of the Novelo’s Bus Terminal. During the assessment, there were several concerns identified, including deteriorating flooring on the lower level, electrical issues throughout the building, and the absence of a ceiling. CEO Williams told Love News that his recent tour to terminals across the country has revealed many urgent issues, and now, with the support of the government, they will be addressed.

Chester Williams, CEO, Ministry of Transport: “It is not in a state that we would want to be proud of. Not in a state that we believe our people deserve so I had pledged that we would be looking to see what we can do to enhance the experiences of our passengers that traverse our bus terminals. We also brought with us an architect from the ministry of Infrastructure and what he is doing he is looking at the building itself, the integrity of the building to see what can be done to enhance the building. We have to look at the flooring of the other side of the terminal. When it rains it holds about three inches of water so we certainly need to lift the flooring on the other side to meet the level of this side. That is one. Two, we have to put a drop ceiling and rewire the building because again the electrical system of the building is not too good. And then fourthly we will build some booths, ticketing booths for the different bus companies to use to sell tickets and then we will also be looking to see what we can do to close off that side of the terminal and make it fully air conditioned. We’re going to paint it and everything. Now I know some people might say why do all that and the building is not good ? And then the will go back to the story where a piece of the building fell on a lady. Well the engineers from the Ministry of Infrastructure have checked the building and from their professional opinion structurally the building is good. It just needs to be given a bit of treatment, the painting, looking at the roof the roof is leaking and so we have to look to see if we can put a zinc roof over the roof to stop the leaking upstairs.”

While the new chairs were being installed, several passengers stood in line at the terminal, observing the changes. Love News spoke with one commuter who expressed support for the renovations, noting that they enhance the overall comfort of the public transportation experience.

Commuter: “Comfortable. All of them are comfortable starting from the others. I mean you can enjoy the tv while you wait for your bus and everything so to me it is comfortable. Everyone has different reasons and things but I like the changes. For the Belize terminal I like it right now because the difference, a lot f things are changing so I kind of like it right now. I haven’t seen the rest of the terminals but I hope they do get better just like the Belize terminal.”

It is noted that Novelo’s will be the first to experience the changes followed by the Belmopan Bus Terminal.