National Transportation Services Limited

Last updated
The Novelo's Bus Terminal in Belize City Belice-City-Novelos Bus-Terminal.jpg
The Novelo's Bus Terminal in Belize City

National Transportation Services Limited is a national transport carrier serving all major districts of Belize. Established in January 2006 following the collapse of the former Novelo's Bus Lines Limited, the reigning monopoly company in Belizean transportation, the NTSL is run by the former owners of that company, David and Antonio Novelo, on much the same permits as the original Novelo's.However this company too has failed like its predecessor. In 2010 to 2011 a massive void was dented into the transport system for Belize when the company went into bankruptcy.

Contents

Routes

As of February 2007:

  1. Belize City-Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico
  1. Belize City-Melchor de Mencos, Peten, Guatemala
  1. Belize City-Punta Gorda Town, Toledo District
  1. Other routes: Dangriga-Independence-Placencia, etc.

Buses are classified as either Regular runs (usual prices) or Express runs (faster, for slightly higher prices).

History

In December 2005, the former Novelo's Bus Line shut down abruptly after more than two and a half decades of transportation service in Belize.

Beginning in about 1998, the Novelo brothers, David and Antonio, embarked on an ambitious plan to control all transport services in Belize. They began buying up smaller, competing companies, including Batty's Bus Line, their largest competitor, and Venus Line, owned by Corozal's Froylan Gilharry. Before long, Novelo's controlled the Northern routes to Corozal and the Orange Walk Districts, the Western route to Cayo and most of the southern route to Dangriga and Punta Gorda (the rest was patrolled by P.G.'s James Bus Line), having bought out companies running these routes. The Novelos used monies borrowed from the Development Finance Corporation to pay for these takeovers and operational costs.

As often happens with monopolies, hiccups in the industry began to affect the company. Gas prices soared, and it quickly became more expensive to maintain 24-hour-a-day routes. At the same time, monies were due to the Atlantic and Belize Banks, which had bankrolled the expansion plan. By 2005, the situation was too much, and the brothers declared bankruptcy; the once-proud Novelo's Line went into receivership. Even in receivership the company remained unable to lift itself out of trouble, and it went down in December. Meanwhile, the brothers planned to get back into the transport business under a new name: National Transport. This new company would run mainly to the West and North, and in Belize City, under the name Belize In Transit Services.

The wary Ministry of Transport at first refused to give the brothers licenses. Attempts to run the routes without licenses were shut down until the process was complete, but for several days Belizeans had no bus transport.

NTSL now ran in competition with the Belize Bus Drivers (now Owners) Cooperative, consisting of drivers from the old Novelo's group, which broke ranks with the company following the drivers' dismissal in December. The NTSL and BBOC are two of the "big three" of Belizean transport, the other being James, the only company the former Novelos did not buy.

The thirty-million-dollar loan from the DFC, borrowed by the Novelos, became a main topic of the subsequent hearings into the actions of that company beginning in mid-2006 and continuing. Recent revelations to the investigative commission indicate that the Novelos used their clout to fasttrack the loan in one day, an action that infuriated Belizeans. In February 2007, the Novelos appealed to the Supreme Court to halt the commission, charging conflicts of interest with appointed auditor Mark Hulse (who they said had been part of the receivership cadre) and general ignorance of the Novelo side of the story. This case is currently being argued.

Related Research Articles

This article is about transport in Belize.

Belize Defence Force military of Belize

The Belize Defence Force (BDF) is the military of Belize, and is responsible for protecting the sovereignty of the country. The BDF is under the Ministry of Defence, which is currently headed by Hon. Michael Peyrefitte; the BDF itself is commanded by Brigadier General Steven Ortega. In 2012, the Belizean government spent about $17 million on the military, constituting 1.08% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

Punta Gorda, Belize Town in Toledo, Belize

Punta Gorda, known locally as P.G., is the capital and largest town of Toledo District in southern Belize. Punta Gorda is the southernmost sizable town in the nation, with a population of about 5,000 people. Although the town bears a Spanish name, its inhabitants are mostly Kriol/English-speaking, and are primarily of Garifuna, East Indian, Kriol, and Maya descent.

Tropic Air is an airline operating scheduled services from Belize. Founded in 1979 by John Greif III with just a single airplane and two employees, Tropic has steadily grown to a fleet of 15 light aircraft. The airline flies to 17 destinations in Belize, Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. The airline also offers various sightseeing tours.

2006 Belizean municipal elections

Belize municipal elections, 2006 were a series of local elections held on March 1, 2006, to fill vacancies for town councils in Corozal, Orange Walk, San Pedro, San Ignacio, Benque Viejo, Dangriga, Punta Gorda, Belize City and Belmopan. All the councils except Belize City elected one mayor and six councillors; Belize City elected one mayor and ten councillors.

LOVE Television is a local cable-only television station broadcasting 24 hours a day from Belize City, Belize. It is a subsidiary of RSV Limited, and has been on since the late 1990s.

The Belize Elections and Boundaries Department is the hands-on administrator of Belizean electoral politics. It was established in 1989 as a subordinate to the Elections and Boundaries Commission.

Belize municipal elections, 2003 were a series of municipal elections held on March 5, 2003 to elect City and Town Councils in the Cities of Belize and Belmopan and the towns of Corozal, Orange Walk, San Pedro, San Ignacio/Santa Elena, Dangriga and Punta Gorda. 142 candidates ran in this election, of whom 25% were women.

2009 Belizean municipal elections

A municipal election was held in Belize on 4 March 2009. Voters elected sixty seven representatives, eighteen in city councils and forty nine in town councils.

The road network in Belize consists of over 1,900 miles (3,000 km) of roads, of which approximately 357 miles (575 km) is paved.

Outline of Belize Overview of and topical guide to Belize

The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Belize:

Index of Belize-related articles Wikipedia list article

The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the nation of Belize.

The 2010–11 Belize Premier Football League is the highest competitive football league in Belize, which was founded in 1991. There were two seasons, the opening and the closing. In 2011, the Belize Premier Football League withdrew from the Football Federation of Belize and all remaining games were abandoned. Thus no winner was crowned for the closing season.

The 2013–14 Premier League of Belize is the third season of the highest competitive football league in Belize, after it was founded in 2011. There are two seasons which are spread over two years, the opening and the closing.

The 2014–15 Premier League of Belize is the fourth season of the highest competitive football league in Belize, after it was founded in 2011. There are two seasons which are spread over two years, the opening and the closing.

2015 Belizean municipal elections

Municipal elections were held in Belize on 4 March 2015. Voters elected 67 representatives, 18 on city councils and 49 on town councils. The elections were a decisive victory for the ruling United Democratic Party, which won 62 out of the 67 seats nationwide. The opposition People's United Party won the remaining seats, losing control of town councils in Dangriga and Punta Gorda, maintaining a majority only in Orange Walk Town.

History of the Catholic Church in Belize

This history of the Catholic church in Belize has three parts: the historical periods of the Catholic presence in Belize, religious congregations laboring in Belize, and apostolic works undertaken.

Municipal elections were held in Belize on 7 March 2012 at the same time as the Belizean general election. The United Democratic Party (UDP) won six municipalities, while the People's United Party (PUP) won three municipalities.

References