AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Travel Sudden Surge of Prices on Water Taxis

What were the fares before San Pedro Express started a year or so ago?

$20 one way, $35 return----San Pedro/Belize City

So it's close to prices of a year and a half ago. Isn't this just a case of a price war ending between competitors trying to shut each other down, failing, and now before they go broke both going back to their original pricing sharing the runs?

Natalie said $35 round trip before the price war started. It's now closer to $60 round trip. I don't call those figures close.

So is this guy lying or has it gone up again

I've just checked prices with SP Water Taxi. From SP, round trip to Belize City is now $60 and to Caye Caulker $40.

Marin clearly gave inaccurate information that he would be able to explain away as a "mistake", as those prices were one way tickets from SP to BzC and CC respectively. There is no longer any "discount" for purchasing round trip tickets.

The last time I went to Belize City by boat, only a few weeks ago, the round trip fare was $35. And I went to CC for the opening of Pedro's new venture - $20 round trip.

Prices have gone up massively - for all practical purposes they've doubled. Prices have never been at these levels the whole time I've been living here, so saying prices have merely returned to their original levels before the price war is indeed a direct lie.

No prices are not near to a few years ago..gas prices in the last 5 years have only changed by about a dollar up and down...I am very disappointed in this thread that know one cares much about the children and their education..and the numbers that have had to stop going to school....

Water taxi businesses gouging customers in Easter season?

Many Belizeans who use the City’s water taxi services to commute to and from the islands of Caye Caulker and San Pedro are boiling mad, and with good reason.

Water taxi prices have been hiked in these already hard times, and to add insult to injury, the departure times from the islands have been changed, and the number of runs has been cut in half, causing big problems for commuters who have to travel each day to the City to attend school, and to reach their jobs on time.

Not only that, but we were told that the water taxi businesses had stopped offering round trip fares, which are usually cheaper, and that a passenger could only buy one-way tickets.

On Friday, Amandala contacted two of the City’s main water taxi businesses, Caye Caulker Water Taxi and San Pedro Water Taxi, for comment on the rise in ticket prices, which they blamed on gas prices going up and yearly holiday rates adjustments.The new prices for traveling to and from the cayes are: Belize City to Caye Caulker one way, $20.00; Belize to San Pedro one way, $30.00.

The rise in prices has been happening over the past two weeks, as prices went first from Belize to Caye Caulker round trip, $25.00 to $35.00, to now one way, $20.00, which is $40.00 round trip.

The Belize City to San Pedro round trip started out at $40.00 to $55.00, and is now one way, $30.00, with the round trip fare being $60.00.

Today, Tuesday, we were told by the two businesses that nothing has changed from Friday, and that the prices and times of departure stand.

An employee of one of the water taxis told Amandala that as of Monday, March 29, customers would be forced to purchase only one way tickets, and that the order was issued by Port Authority of Belize to the taxi association.

“Port Authority directed us to only sell one-way tickets starting Monday 29; they are also allowing each water taxi to only make four trips daily to and from the cayes,” she told us.

The employee explained that Port Authority issued this order allegedly to allow each taxi equal opportunity to gain customers. What this means is that a customer’s right to purchase a round trip ticket is no longer optional, forcing each commuter to dig deeper into his or her pocket for the extra money for single tickets.

Amandala then contacted Port Authority to speak to the manager, but was told all personnel in charge were in a meeting. The secretary told us, however, that the order for a one-way ticket only was never issued by them.

“The only thing we did was to amend the schedule of the water taxis,” she told us.

This comes at a bad time for people traveling to and from the cayes during this Easter season, as Shadeen Canto, 20, of Belize City, told us.

“I was planning on going to the cayes for the holiday, but I can’t afford that price. Life done hard here in Belize; that doesn’t make any sense,” she said.

Another customer, Crystal, 22, of Belize City, commented: “I feel that that is unfair, very unfair and greedy how they keep putting up the prices, especially at a time when ticket prices should be going down for the Easter holiday.”

Some employees of the water taxis said that the increases may be only for the Easter holidays, and that the rates should fall back afterwards.

This, someone told us, “has to be seen to be believed.”

Amandala

Says it all. They are simply lying to us, and taking us for fools.

Junior Heredia Promises Crackdown on Water Taxis

As we reported before the Easter break - travelers were "bex" with the service being offered by Caye Caulker Water Taxi and San Pedro Belize Express. They complained that prices had suddenly gone up right in the middle of Easter week which sees the most traveling to the cayes. And, more than that, the two operators had changed up their schedules to complement each other, making it clear to consumers that they were colluding. And that collusion, most inevitably concluded, was the product of a buyout - that both companies had come under the same ownership. Area Representative for San Pedro and Caye Caulker Manuel Junior Heredia was not deaf to these complaints. In fact, he got them in heaping servings and today he told us that Government is warning the company or companies to tighten up, or else.

Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr., Area Representative- Belize Rural South
"People are crying. There is now not an express route to either San Pedro or Caye Caulker. Students are having a difficulty going to college, people that have to work are having a difficulty and the salaries are not going up. So I have approached them and the matter has been brought to Cabinet like I said and it was discussed and said that between Port Authority and ourselves we will talk to them. I know for a fact that the Minister of Transport has spoken to them and they have agreed on a time frame that they have to go back to the original $55 which was highest they could have gone. If they want to go higher they have to request it from the Port Authority and if they can justify it but until then they will have to go back. And if services are not provided the way it was in the past then it is our responsibility to make sure that we invite somebody else to get into the business and offer the best quality of service that our deserve. But until then let us see what will happen and then we move forward."

Jules Vasquez,
"Now Minister you have a family relation on San Pedro Belize Express and a lot of people feel that you are playing favorites with San Pedro Belize Express."

Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr.,
"Jules everybody knows me including yourself that when it comes to dealing with issues I am always fair to whatever is best for the people. If for some reason my nephew is in that business and he has not offering a good service or is not offering the right services and somebody else wants to do it then my responsibility is to speak to them first and give them the first option to do what is best. If that doesn't happen then I together with the Minister of Transport will approach them and tell them look, these are the conditions and if you all cannot meet these conditions, we have to do what we have to do."

Jules Vasquez,
"In your opinion does San Pedro Belize Express now owns or controls Caye Caulker Water Taxi which we know is heavily indebted for over $1 million?"

Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr.,
"Well I don't know the details or the specifics about what is really happening. I know that yes for a fact they have agreed to semi-merge and try to control the market they want to. I feel personally that is not in the best interest of the commuters. Anything that will dictate what commuters have to do or you would force them to do what the companies want them to do then I feel I will not be part of something like that."

Jules Vasquez,
"If these do companies will merge and decide to have their way with commuters, shouldn't then the Ministry of Transport come in and dictate that the government is the regulator and you will do what we say and not what you choose to do to manipulate the marketplace?"

Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr.,
"Yes I agree with you that whenever it comes to the services rendered to commuters then we are supposed to put our hands on it and make sure that they get the best service that they need to be getting."

Jules Vasquez,
"So government is going about doing that, to reign in these companies which are now not serving commuters the way they want to be served?"

Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr.,
"Well I said clearly at the press conference that our job is to make sure that our job is to ensure that commuters get the best services and if it is not done then we need to do what we need to do."

The best we have been able to gather form unofficial sources is that with the facilitation of a third party - the heavily indebted Caye Caulker Water Taxi is now in harness to San Pedro Belize Express. That is - we stress unofficial - but there has been no official word from the two companies who have been inexplicably mute - even as their customers publicly complained about the fall off in service.

http://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=16637