BON

Bonaire is an island in the Caribbean and was part of the Netherlands Antilles until the country’s dissolution in 2010, when it became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands, together with the very small islands of Sint Eustatius and Saba. It is a popular tourist destination.

The island has two “towns”, Kralendijk, the capital, and Rincon, in the centre of the island. The road system is basic, with a good road between the two towns and mostly very narrow or unsurfaced roads elsewhere.

The following information is from the government website:
“Public transport on Bonaire
Taxi and bus permits are issued to natural persons resident in Bonaire for a period of up to five years. In addition, drivers must have a driving permit issued by the Local Chief of Police. A driving permit is only issued to persons in possession of a valid driving license, older than 25 years of age and of “good moral and social conduct”. Drivers over 60 years of age must undergo an annual medical test. The current Island Ordinances show that working as a driver must be a main activity. This means that driving a taxi or bus must be the main source of income for the driver, and not a secondary activity.

The policy regarding passenger transport by bus is based on the Island Ordinance Bus Services Bonaire from 1961. The Island Ordinance Rental Car Services Bonaire, which regulates taxi transport, dates from 1962. A permit is refused or revoked if the applicant or permit holder can already provide for his or her livelihood in another way. The permit holder may be assisted by a driver “in the operation of his service”. This assistant driver must also have a driving permit. Public transport is collective transport, taxi transport is individual/group transport. On Bonaire, public transport is provided by the Bus drivers, while the Taxi drivers provide the taxi transport. A request for a permit for the Bus and Taxi services is made in writing to the Executive Council and contains at least the following information: name, first names, date of birth, place of birth, address and nationality of the applicant.” 

However, there is no organised public transport system, even though there are 17 bus stops. People have to wait for a (small) vehicle and then pay a very high fee. The Dutch government and the island government developed a budget in 2024 to start a regular bus service, but bus companies are opposed as they fear losing money! A system still needs to be put into place (December 2024). This Youtube video shows a Dutch news item on the subject.

As Bonaire is an important tourist destination, it has a range of hotels and resorts, and regular cruise ships call at the port. Transfers from the airport to the hotels and tours around the island are thus important and lucrative business. The main tour is a several-hour trip along the southern part of the island, visiting the salt pans, the slave huts, a lighthouse, seeing wild donkeys and flamingos and having a lunch and swim at Sorobon beach. The western part of the island, with the Washington Slagbaai National Park requires a high vehicle and takes more time.

Several companies are offering transfers and tours:
-Rentofun is an older company with over a dozen buses, mostly older US school bus models with open bodies (for the fun tours) and some Hyundai Aero Town smaller coaches.
-Tropical Travel specialises in transfers and has a small fleet of medium-sized vehicles (Hyundai County, Mitsubishi Rosa, Toyota Coaster). It is based close to the airport and its buses can be seen there.
-Fiesta Tours Bonaire is a branch of Fiesta Tours Curacao. The company has a few minibuses and several modern Hyundai Aero City buses, as well as two new Golden Dragon midi coaches.
-Henk Transfer & Tours also has a few medium-sized vehicles.
-Bonaij Adventure Tours has at least two Hyundai Aero City coaches.

Other companies cater for adventure tours with smaller vehicles, often with open bodies. Several organisations, clubs and resorts have their own vehicles. Companies offering diving tours mostly use pickups as the equipment can be transported on the back of the vehicle.

Many minibuses, mainly Toyota Hiace, are used as taxis. These have registration plates starting with TX while buses have plates starting with B.

Older pictures show some interesting buses: an MCI and an ENCAVA, but in 2024 those had gone.

The links to the right show companies and buses.