Filenews 8 June 2023 - by Ioanna Mantziria
With the main aim of alleviating the traffic problem recorded in various areas of Cyprus, the Ministry of Transport is expanding the bus service from home to school with an escort. For the new school year, the Ministry has set in its program the doubling of school units, aiming to reduce the traffic problem on the roads and at the same time facilitate parents.
The two districts that present the biggest problem are Nicosia and Limassol, with the ministry focusing on specific areas in order to reduce at least half, the chaos that prevails on the streets mainly in the morning hours.
As far as Limassol is concerned, the focus of the "Door to Door" service has been placed on the area of Agia Fylaxeos and the schools adjacent to the two roundabouts. As "F" had written in the past, residents living in the northern areas of Limassol experience a nightmare every day with endless queues of vehicles.
"F" contacted the Senior Officer of the Department of Public Transport, Mr. Andreas Nikiforou, who mentioned that this is a pilot program that has been of great interest since last year. In fact, for the new school year, the service will be expanded and there will be the addition of twice as many school units as last year in all districts.
According to data from the Ministry of Transport, last year 320 primary school students across Cyprus were transferred from home to school and vice versa through the program. The aim of the ministry, as Mr. Nikiforou stressed, is to reduce as much as possible the number of private vehicles from the roads and especially outside schools where there is daily heavy traffic.
The procedure is the same as last year and an escort will be on the bus and then will go door to door to the students' homes to pick them up or deliver them.
As Mr. Nikiforou explained, the children will be picked up by an escort who must have the appropriate qualifications. In order for the escort to be able to be employed, he must hold all the appropriate certificates, hold a clean criminal record and have received special training on road safety and knowledge of First Aid.
Asked why the program is not being implemented for all schools in Cyprus, Mr. Nikiforou said that this solution would be the appropriate and the most ideal, however, as he said, in Cyprus and abroad there is a huge problem with finding professional drivers.
Please note that student transfers will take place only within their educational district and not from other areas. In case students reside outside the boundaries of this district or in more remote areas, they will not be served.
