Bus
Most Belizeans travel by bus as their main form of transportation. In the large towns and cities, such as Belize City, tickets can be bought ahead of time at a bus terminal. However, the most common way of catching a bus is by flagging it down on the road. On the Phillip Goldson and George Price Highways, bus service is more frequent than on smaller highways and other roads. In some locations, like small towns, buses may run only once a day. Many buses are old Greyhounds or school buses, although newer express buses travel the two main highways. The express buses cost slightly more than other buses.
Travel by bus in Belize is inexpensive, with the total fare from Chetumal, Mexico, at the border in the north to Punta Gorda in the far south being only around BZ$40 (US$20). Fares vary by route and bus line, but generally fares run around 5 to 7 US cents per mile. With the 2005 bankruptcy and closing of the largest national bus company, Novelo's, bus service in Belize has become more fragmented. National Transportation Services, effectively the successor to Novelo's, generally operates from the old Novelo's terminals, but almost 100 other bus lines, some with only one bus, also operate around the country. Among the larger lines are James, Tillett's, Belize Buses (a drivers' co-op) and Gilharry. Shuttle vans also operate, providing direct service between towns for a higher price. Two Guatemala-based bus lines, Linea Dorada and San Juan, have service from Chetumal, Mexico, to Flores, Guatemala, via Belize City.
Read more about this topic: Roads In Belize
Famous quotes containing the word bus:
“It seemed a long way from 143rd Street. Shaking hands with the Queen of England was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus going into downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. Dancing with the Duke of Devonshire was a long way from not being allowed to bowl in Jefferson City, Missouri, because the white customers complained about it.”
—Althea Gibson (b. 1927)
“I’d take the bus downtown with my mother, and the big thing was to sit at the counter and get an orange drink and a tuna sandwich on toast. I thought I was living large!... When I was at the Ritz with the publisher a few months ago, I did think, “Oh my God, I’m in the Ritz tearoom.” ... The person who was so happy to sit at the Woolworths counter is now sitting at the Ritz, listening to the harp, and wondering what tea to order.... [ellipsis in source] Am I awake?”
—Connie Porter (b. 1959)
“Nora was always free with it and threw her heart away as if it was a used bus ticket.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)