Today, he organized a meeting with the media to explain the proposal, and we asked him to clarify some of the concerns from the BBA. Courtney Menzies was there and has this story.

The Ministry of Transport's proposal for a National Bus Company is still moving forward despite the rejection from the Belize Bus Association. According to the minister, about half the buses from the association - that is, 15 operators - have agreed to join the company as shareholders.

That wasn't mentioned in BBA's press release. Their release, however, did point out the glaring concern of the other half of the operators - how much do they stand to make? They demanded to see a financial model for the company, as well as a 5 year projection. But Dr Louis Zabaneh says the valuation has to happen before that.

Dr Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Transport
"When I spoke to Mr Shaw I said we discussed this two or three times already that we cannot give them that information until we do the valuation. We need the data, we need the information otherwise it will be guesstimates and then when you see the guesstimate it off and when you get the information, they'll say, oh see, you're giving wrong information, you're trying to trick us. We have to do this thing the right way, we have to give the time that is necessary for the auditors to do their work and then present us with the data and then we can take that data and do a proper projection because now we have information about the cost structure, we have proper information of how a small operator compares to a large operator and what would likely be the cost structure for the consolidated company then when you have that, you can give them a comparison, you can say okay this is what you're doing right now, see your monthly flows here. And this is what the National Company will be doing and based on your share holding, see what your flows will look like and that way you can give them that info but it needs a few more months of information coming in that we can rely on."

The plan is that by August, Dr Zabaneh will have some numbers to take back to Cabinet. And if all goes well, by January the company will come online - and it may be with or without the other half off the association.

Zabaneh explained that in that case, once the terminal is upgraded, the operators who didn't sign on will have to pay to use it. But he added that it's fair game since every operator is given the option.

Dr Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Transport
"First of all, the Cabinet would have to approve that. That would be my recommendation to the Cabinet, they could say otherwise but I would think that from what we've heard from the public, we've done some surveys with the public and you don't even need to know how they feel about the licking they're taking that the ones who do not come into the national company will have to deal with their commuters asking them why you didn't take this opportunity. That is how I see it. And remember if you look at it from the point of view of what is going to be coming out of the national company, nobody is being excluded from coming in, I think that is how we should look at it. If we said, alright, it's only PUP operators that could come into this thing. Ah, yes, just this one, see. No, everybody from day 1 has an opportunity to be a part of this."

And while the BBA is warning the Belizean public about possible increased fares, Zabaneh says that won't be the case.

Dr Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Transport
"In a sense the statement is contradictory because they're saying, if you look at other countries with higher prices, that means we will have to raise rates and if you do this national company you will have to raise your rates, it doesn't follow logically that that's true but then at the same time they're saying sometimes we have to pick up people that can only pay half fares, students can't pay, all these things, so the fares have to remain low, so which is it? From our perspective, what the national company will be able to do because it would have a wider spread between revenue and cost is to ensure, now when I say revenue goes up I don't mean price goes up. What I mean is that the money that should be for the company is coming into the company's bank account. It's not coming in right now because you have a lot of people, especially some drivers and conductors who are stealing the money and that means that your revenue could have been up here but it's so. So now you will get more of your money."

"But because your cost goes down and you have a bigger margin, there is less pressure to increase prices."

And for the ones who do decide to join the company, they'll still need to undergo an interview process to decide whether they can be more than just a shareholder.

Dr Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Transport
"We're not gonna say you're all guaranteed you're going to get jobs because that would be, in a sense, reckless. We have to have a system in place that's the minimum standard for people who are employed in the national company. So you come in, you meet those standards, you do your interviews, you have your qualifications, you're a driver, you demonstrate that you can drive properly, you pass certain interviews that will speak to your character because what are we having? We're having a very dangerous situation out there where drivers are texting while they're driving. Some of them, when they park, they go to hang out and drink liquor or whatever else and then come back and operate these buses, we know these things, these things are no secret. We have to have certain standards of who can come in and work with this company for the best interest in terms of safety and the comfort of our people."

And one of the 15 bus owners who've already made up their minds says that as a smaller operator, he fully supports Zabaneh's plan.

Joel Armstrong, Armstrong Bus Service
"It's a good plan while it is applied in the right way and you have responsible people, because sometimes we tend to say one thing and then we be one sided."

"If it's going to work, it is going to work because the people want it to work. If it will fail, the people are responsible for that. I don't think I'm making any mistakes, it's the people's responsibility."

"I must understand as a company I need to work harder just like when I owned my own bus. Even though it's not going to be mine but I will still have the pride and say, you know what, junior that bus was for us and you know what it's still for us. If we break down today, we have another one to put on the road tomorrow, we don't have to think about rent or whatever. I know some operators will be upset with what I'm saying because they'll say I'm a traitor. This is my personal view."

Once the company is up and running, a transition period will ensue during which the bluebird buses will be gradually replaced with 150 newer buses.