The Minister of Justice has spoken. I totally agreed with him, yet I would still like to present the flip side to my readers.

We are talking about Green Bikes who ten years ago introduced the shared ride concept to Aruba. They waited for permits for three years, and then after paying precario and all fees, were able to set up shared-ride charging-docks, in front of the hotels. The bikes had an app, through which operators restricted the speed and the distance. The bikes were programmed to remain in the resort area, and to run at a limited speed.

You must be familiar with the phenomenon in which a clever idea immediately gets copied?

It did not take long.

Bird scooters appeared. This is what I wrote in 2020:

BIRD SCOOTERS. Under the guise of pandemic, BIRD scooters found their way into our economy, and they are now left to litter every sidewalk in my neighborhood. Of course, the traffic is less intense these days, but when it picks up, we will experience some gruesome accidents. No, Aruba has no legislation that prevents a business like that from doing spawning dockless and rechargeable wheels, as they please. It is not a big nuisance now, but judging from the experience of big cities, wait, it will become one.

I was right.

Bird scooters leaned their bikes against Green Bikes shared-ride charging-dock, and cashed in royally, no precario, no license plates, no registration, no insurance.

In June 2022 Green Bikes’ business was suffering from unfair competition. They begged for a meeting with the Minister of Economic Affairs and the Minister of Transportation in the MEP government.

It was a wall to meeting with lawyers and government officials.

Aruba is a free economy, we welcome business, this is a service to tourists, it’s environmental, the officials explained, we are recovering from the pandemic, any new business is welcome. Just Do It.

Bird Scooters registered another company doing the same, by the name of E-Moop.

Life went on, business picked up.

Accepting the meeting’s pronouncements as gospel, Green Bikes imported 50 additional e-steps and e-scooters and business was good.

The company updated its status at Economic Affairs.

Then a few days ago, a press conference, announcing a total ban.

Green Bikes feels the minister should have talked to the stakeholders. They have employees and obligations, there are families involved and children.

The bikes can be programmed to limit velocity and they can be directed to park at certain zones, they can be kept out of certain areas. The technology is there.

No warning? Just like that? Give us six months, some time to pivot and change the business model. Solutions to remediate the parking and the lawless driving, can be found.

Meanwhile I asked CLAUDE how many electric scooter rentals operate in Aruba.

Scootey Aruba

E-Moob

E Bike Aruba

Stenzo Bike

TechShack Aruba

Green Bike Aruba

George Cycle

Easy Hire Mobility Scooters & Bike Rental Aruba

More than a car, a moment to celebrate.With The Flying Dress Experience, Garage Centraal transforms the experience of buying a car into a beautiful gift for women.

There are decisions in life that, even though practical, carry a lot of emotion. Buying a new car is one of them. It’s a decision that can represent freedom, independence, comfort, safety, and often a new step in life. For many women, it’s not just about choosing transportation—it’s essential for daily life: going to work, enjoying time with family, getting around, and much more. They can feel confident that Garage Centraal understands this by providing the information and guidance needed when choosing a new car.

With this in mind, Garage Centraal launched The Flying Dress Experience, a promotion that celebrates women who purchase a new car between April 2 and June 30, 2026. More than a typical promotion, The Flying Dress Experience presents itself as an elegant gesture, a special detail, a way of recognizing that some moments in life are truly extraordinary.

During the promotional period, women who purchase a new car at Garage Centraal will automatically qualify for a chance to win a spectacular Flying Dress Experience session. There will be one winner at the end of April, May, and June—one winner per month, for a total of three winners.

What makes this idea so appealing is that it’s not only focused on the prize, but on the emotion behind it. The experience includes a Flying Dress Session: a professional photoshoot with your new car, along with hair styling and makeup—all combined to create a refined, feminine, and unforgettable moment. It’s not just a photoshoot; it’s a complete experience designed to place the woman at the center of a beautiful celebration.

“The Flying Dress Experience is not just a prize. It’s a way to celebrate women who choose to move forward with confidence.”

As a promotion, The Flying Dress Experience brings something different. It brings emotion. It adds a touch of glamour to a moment that is already meaningful for many people. And perhaps that’s exactly what makes it feel so special.

Because for many women, buying a car is not a small decision. It may be a first car, a well-deserved upgrade, a choice to make family life easier, or simply a gift to oneself after hard work. There is a sense of pride and satisfaction in such a moment.

The Flying Dress Experience recognizes this. It creates space to see the purchase not just as a transaction, but as an extraordinary moment—one worthy of celebration in a way that is visually striking, elegant, and connected to a modern idea of femininity: confidence, presence, and style.

The image of a flowing dress moving with the wind, set in a beautiful location alongside your new car, with professional makeup and a photoshoot, creates an almost cinematic atmosphere. But what truly gives the experience its value is not just how it looks, but how it makes a person feel. That is the most important message.

With this promotion, Garage Centraal shows that they understand the human and emotional side of buying a car. Of course, customers want reliability, good service, and a quality vehicle that meets their needs. But they also want to feel appreciated—to feel that such an important moment is recognized and not treated as something ordinary.

For women considering a new car during this period, The Flying Dress Experience adds something extra. It brings together the practical and the emotional. Beauty and independence. And in the end, that may be the essence of it all.

A certain parliamentarian from the AVP party has made it his business to be the mouthpiece of the prime minister. The prime minister who feels negatively about the hotel sector inspired Ing. Carlos Bermudez to launch a barrage of false accusations against the hotels in general, no specifics.

They abuse employees he stated, they intimidate, they pressure, and he would like the minister in charge of Labor & Tourism to waste his time investigating air.

How do we know the accusations are false?

The hotels and resorts in Aruba value their employees/associates, they cannot operate without them, and if an issue arises, a manager or supervisor can reach resolution by talking to the factions face to face. Employees are free to report to the government labor department for conflict resolution, and internally at the resort, caring and proactive human resources departments, accept full responsibility for mediation and consensus.

So what inspired the venerated parliamentarian? The prime minister of Aruba is sounding as if he would like to conduct a dialogue with the hotels but in reality, he wants to impose his will and the parliamentarian, as a good party soldier, devised a smear campaign against Aruba’s biggest employer, creating ill-will in the community.

And I personally resent him calling some hotel managers ‘stranhero.’

These professionals dropped everything that was going on in their lives and came here to help us run multi-million-dollar businesses. As a reward they must endure the via dolorosa of DIMAS/ CENSO/Labor department. Calling them out falsely as a source of employee complaints, is ungrateful and WRONG, in capital letters.

AHATA is not a political party you compete with and must downgrade. AHATA is, I repeat, your biggest employer. True leaders help the community get ahead by forming relationship and alliances, not beating business down.

It is irresponsible to treat the private sector disrespectfully. What is the goal, what are you trying to achieve?

This Earth Day, the Aruba Conservation Foundation (ACF) invites the communtiy of Aruba and beyond to pause and reflecto n a simple but urgent message: nature is speaking. The question is, is it being heard?

With the launch of Naturalesa ta Papia (Nature is Speaking), ACF presents a short video that brings viewers closer to Aruba’s natural world to be admired and as something to be understood and be protected.

The story unfolds in three acts. It begins with immersing viewers up close in the island’s landscapes and species, revealing the beauty and details often overlooked. It then shifts to the growing pressures facing these environments including human impacts on its fragile ecosystem. In its final act, the message offers hope, highlighting the collective efforts of a community needing to work together to protect, preserve, and restore Nature.

Filmed entirely in Aruba over the course of two months, the production was carried out with a profound commitment to respecting Nature. All footage was captured from a respectful distance and under guidance of conservation experts, ensuring minimal disturbance to wildlife and natural habitats.

“This story is a vehicle to speak about something much larger,” says Tyson Lopez, CEO, Aruba Conservation Foundation. “Nature has always been speaking to us, through its beauty, its changes, and even through it’s growing pressures. But now it time we move beyond just listening. We need to commit to taking collective action.”

Aruba’s  natural areas are more and more under profound pressure. From our terrestrial areas, our coastal area, and our waters, the humans behave in nature affects its future and ours directly. Nature is Speaking and calls for a shift from passive support and appreciation to taking active responsibility.

Listening to Nature is not just a feeling. It needs to be reflected in everyday choices like moving with care, respecting boundaries, protecting habitats and making conscious descisions that reduce harm on this place called home.

ACF emphasizes that conservation cannot be achieved alone. Conserving Aruba’s natural heritage requires collective action from locals, residents, visitors, partners, policymakers, and the entire community.

This Earth Day, Naturalesa ta Papia is a call to listen with intention, and to truly commit to nature’s protection.

Nature is already speaking, what happens next is how Aruba, as a community decides to respond.

To learn more about the campaign Naturalesa ta Papia, visit www.acf.aw/naturalesa-ta-papia

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I applauded the minister on his decision to take ALL Personal Mobility Devices, PMDs, e-bikes, e-steps, e-scooters, off the road. Perhaps it is a strategy. Let us wipe our streets clean, then over time change the law and start reintroducing SOME PMDs, legally.

My source says, the minister acted hastily. Our traffic has been plagued by these pests for five or six or seven years, yet it is true, recently with the introduction of e-scooters, the situation became unbearable.

I found out that NONE of these businesses have a license to rent out e-bikes, e-steps, or e-scooters.

They are all ILLEGAL businesses.

Locals just imported some and started renting them out.

Because the law only defines vehicles for cargo and transportation but has NO definition for PMDs.

The law must be changed to specify types of mobility devises which are legal on Aruba and qualify for a business license.

Moreover, if these were legal businesses, they would have been required to have license plates, inspected by DTI, they would have to pay insurance, issue helmets, limit the speed to under 25km/h, limit the number of riders per PMD, and limit access to certain roads/areas such as highways. Off course pay taxes.

But the law does not say anything specific, thus the door was left wide open for all opportunists to make a bundle at the cost of our quality of life.

And while I have you here with me, the law does not say anything specific about ATVs and UTVs.

Legally, they are categorized as motorcycles because they have no body, they are NOT cars, and as such they would require an A driver’s license.

The companies renting ATVs and UTVs out, just ask to see a driver’s license and usually get the B kind that qualifies us to drive a car, NOT an ATV/UTV

ANYONE DRIVING A UTV/ATV WITH A B LICENSE, IS VIOLATING THE LAW.

So the minister’s move was a quick fix, from today to tomorrow, and I fear the Police does not have enough eyes and hands to enforce that fix.

It would have been more prudent to amend the law, then no lawsuits, no whining.

What we consider the law today, is a version from year 2000. It left out key details and the individuals who put the law together, did not look into the future to see that PMDs, or Micromobility Devices, will be the next BIG thing. They left out what was then called bicycles with auxiliary motors, and as such contributed to the chaotic situation.

In most organized countries bicycles also require registration and a fee paid to the government for a small license plate, besides insurance, and they must have light reflectors back & front and a bell as a safety precaution — helmets for minors. In Aruba non-motorized bicycles do not require registration, and lately we have seen that almost nothing is licensed properly, the list is long.

ADD TO LIST: The cars parked with 4sale signs across the Ritz Carlton on public land, and at every roundabout. The A-plates rented to tourists.