AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Travel Mexico stops Belize buses from entering Chetumal

" Mexico announced yesterday that they will no longer allow Belizean buses to cross the border into Chetumal. This will be a blow to Belizean operators, a boom for Chetumal taxis, and extra cost for Belizeans visiting Chetumal.

The owners flatly refused to adhere to standards acceptable to Mexico and yet demanded reciprocity. Mexico agreed to allow time for them to get up to standard but that time has run out. Operators complained that enforcement of standards in Belize to meet the Mexican requirement will inevitably lead to a demand for higher fares. "

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" Please be informed that starting as of tomorrow Saturday July 15th, 2017 ALL the buses that travel to Chetumal Quintana Roo won't be allowed to enter Chetumal.

As of tomorrow we will unloading and loading off passengers by the old Border by nearly in front of the casino. So ALL passengers will enter Chetumal Quintana Roo by the Santa Elena Border (Old Border).

Get a combi which is cheaper like $12 pesos per person to go in Chetumal and vice versa.

This was decided today after bus owners sat on a meeting with the Federal Police, SICCA, Transport Dept & Secretario de el Estado Chetumal this morning.

From: Omar Tillet Bus Line, Joshua's Bus Line, Silva's Bus Line, Chel's Bus Line Ltd, Chacon's Bus Line Ltd......et al. "

Mexican officials not barring Belize buses into Mexico

Belize bus companies traveling to Chetumal, Mexico, will no longer be traveling into that city, but will travel only to the northern border where the passengers will disembark, and they will have to make their own travel arrangements to and from Chetumal.

According to the bus companies, the changes were as a result of a meeting held with the local Chetumal officials, and the announcement was made on Saturday.

According to the announcement, the buses will travel up to the Casino near the border, where the passengers will disembark, and they will access the Mexican border, across the old Belize Mexico Bridge to Sub Teniente Lopez, the old crossing, and will return by that route.

This afternoon during an interview with Amandala at the Mexican Embassy in Belize City, Mexican Counselor Hugo Juarez Carillo told us that it is the decision of the local bus operators not to go to Chetumal. The Mexican government is not stopping them, he said, and no laws are passed forbidding them from going to the city, but they signed some agreement with the local government which have some requirements which the bus operators must abide by.

Belize buses have been given the old ADO Terminal to park in Chetumal, which is bigger and more comfortable for the passengers. Belize buses are welcome, said Carillo, but they must park at the terminal and abide by the Chetumal regulations.

Amandala

Relocation of Belize buses to ADO Terminal is putting a hurt on the vendors at Lazaro Cardinez Market

After agreeing to abide by new regulations and traffic laws in Chetumal, Belizean bus operators have now been informed that they must relocate their buses while in Chetumal to the ADO Bus Terminal and they are no longer permitted to park at the Lazaro Cardinez Market bus stop.

This relocation is having a negative impact on the revenue of the market vendors and business owners at the Lazaro Cardinez Market (New Market) in Chetumal, which was the popular bus park for Belize buses for years. The business owners are unhappy because there is a decline in their sales. According to a report, the business owners at Lazaro Cardinez Market have seen a decline of about 70% in their revenue and they are lobbying Chetumal City officials to address the situation, because the Belize buses were relocated without consultation with them. They are seeking for the move to be reversed.

We spoke today to the Mexican Counsel, Hugo Juarez Carrillo, Press and Legal Affairs at the Mexican Embassy, Belize City, and asked him if efforts are now being made to abandon the new arrangement and reassign the Belize buses to Lazaro Cardinez to address the loss in revenue being suffered by those businesses at Lazaro Cardinez Market.

Counsel Juarez Carillo told us that reassigning the buses to Lazaro Cardinez Market is not an option that would be considered, because the objective of the relocation of the buses was to ensure the safety of the citizens of Chetumal as well as visitors, because some of the streets in the area of the New Market are narrow, and pedestrians in the area are at risk of being hit by the buses. This was a primary reason for the relocation, among other considerations that the officials had to take into account.

He said that it is a matter for the local city officials to solve, and not the federal authorities, because the situation is not affecting Chetumal City, but only the businesses at Lazaro Cardinez.

Counsel Juarez Carrillo told us that he went to the ADO Bus Terminal to see how the Belize shoppers and buses were adjusting, and he was pleased. He said that the Belizeans were moving around and were using taxis, so no major problems were created.

Amandala