Van der Burg holds firm on bus line by early 2027, but concrete plan still missing
KRALENDIJK – According to the current schedule, the first bus service on Bonaire should begin operating in early 2027. That is what State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Efficient Governance Eric van der Burg said on Friday during a digital press conference following the Kingdom Council of Ministers meeting. Whether the island government will actually meet that deadline, however, remains uncertain.
Van der Burg stated he had been informed by the local government that the bus should be running by early 2027. According to the State Secretary, the island government is in contact with HTM, the public transport company in the greater The Hague region. What HTM’s exact role on Bonaire would be has not yet been determined.
The statement provides some clarity on the timeline, but a concrete implementation plan from the executive council has still not been made public. Earlier, September 2026 had been mentioned as a possible start date. That planning proved to be premature.
Roads first
MPB island council member Elvis Tjin Asjoe stated in May that several roads would need to be upgraded before the bus service could launch. According to him, the first route, between Rincon and Kralendijk, could potentially begin operating in the first quarter of 2027.
That aligns with the timeline Van der Burg mentioned on Friday. However, it remains unclear which steps have already been taken, when the necessary buses will be purchased, where the stops will be located, and who will ultimately operate the public transport service.
It is also unknown whether the executive council has already made a final decision on the route, timetable, and fares.
Political uncertainty
Time is meanwhile running short. Island council elections on Bonaire are scheduled for March 2027. Furthermore, the current executive council no longer commands a stable majority in the island council.
This raises the question of whether the administration will still manage to present a concrete and financially substantiated implementation plan before the elections. Van der Burg bases his expectation on information provided by the local government, but offered no additional guarantees during the press conference that the bus will actually be running by early 2027.
