The Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Regulations, 2019, creates two new permit types for international bus service providers (IBSPs) that travel within and through Belize; namely, “direct in transit” and “indirect in transit” classifications.

Under the amendment, “Direct in transit” is defined as “transit through Belize an international service provider, without dropping off or picking up any passengers on the route.” Indirect in transit, on the other hand, speaks to “transit into Belize, by an international service provider, with stops at designated bus terminals in Belize and departure to the country of origin.”

In terms of the latter class of permits, and subject to certain exceptions, the IBSPs would be limited to “one run per day from one international service provider” from Mexico and one IBSP from Guatemala.

The direct in transit permit, however, would not be allowed to pick-up or drop-off any passengers, and only authorizes the bus to pass through Belize to its final destination in either Mexico or Guatemala.