Filenews 4 October 2022 - by Rafaela Dimitriadi
The efforts made by the Ministry of Transport to solve the traffic problem, which is observed daily on the roads of Cyprus and especially of the capital, are intensive. The Minister of Transport, Yiannis Karousos, asked for a scientific study to be carried out on the transport issue, with the aim of the data through it to highlight on the one hand what are the factors that create a traffic infarction and on the other hand at what times the biggest problem is observed.
The traffic problem is exacerbated even more by the transfer of students to schools in the morning hours, with the change in the arrival hours of students being under discussion in order to find the right balance that will help alleviate the problem.
As the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Pavlos Mylonas, told philenews, the pilot study of the Ministry of Transport is ready and is expected to be presented in the near future by the Minister of Transport at a joint meeting of the Education and Transport Committees of the Parliament.
According to Mr. Mylonas, the reasons that support the change of the time of arrival and departure of students from schools do not concern only the transport, but have first of all a pedagogical character due to the change in the way of life of modern man. "It is no coincidence that Greece has proceeded to change the working hours in schools", he said and pointed out the importance of increasing the time of movement of citizens within the city, but also the opportunity that citizens will have to be served by the Public Service, as changes in the flexible hours in the State are in the works.
The exact hours that will be formed for the schools have not yet been decided, however, as Mr. Mylonas mentioned, perhaps the first bell of the Elementary Schools will ring at 8:30 and in the Gymnasiums and Lyceums at 9:00.
It is very likely, he noted, that after the documented data of the study, which will be available to them by the end of December, the issue will be addressed by the Education Committee of the House, so that decisions can be made.
When and how the public sector's working hours are expected to change
There are intense discussions about the change of flexible hours in the public sector, an arrangement that is also expected to help significantly reduce traffic.
According to the Secretary General of PASYDY, Stratis Matheou, the new flexible hours of civil servants are expected to be implemented before the end of 2022.
As he mentioned to philenews, the existing flexible working hours are from 7:30-8:30 with the Government accepting its formation from 7:00 to 8:30. This change, as Mr. Matheou pointed out, does not mean that civil servants will work less, but will depart from work, depending on the time of their arrival.
It is worth noting that in order for the change in the regulations governing the time of arrival and departure of civil servants from their workplace to take effect, this issue must first be discussed in the House of Representatives and approved.
Mr. Matheou also stressed that the extension of the flexible working hours will not solve the traffic problem, but will certainly contribute to some extent to the improvement of the situation.
However, according to philenews sources, an effort is being made so that the flexible hours of the State concern the hours of 7:00-9:00 and not 7:00-8:30, as the Government has accepted.
