Filenews 25 August 2025 - by Vasos Vassiliou
Parents should sleep soundly the day before their children's school trip. An indirect answer to the question is given by the Minister of Transport, Mr. Alexis Vafeadis, in response to a question by DISY MP Mr. Giorgos Karoulas, regarding the checks carried out on drivers and buses.
First of all, parents should know that the inspections are not carried out by the Department of Road Transport, as one might expect (due to expertise) but by officials of the Ministry of Education.
As strange as it may sound, the officials of the Ministry of Education must check the age of the bus, the valid professional license of the driver, the existence of an active certificate of suitability of the vehicle and the good condition of the vehicle inside and out.
Moreover, the minister clarifies that it is impossible for the supervisors of the Road Transport Department to supervise the buses because the staff is reduced but also because of the large geographical range they have to cover.
In more detail, Mr. Vafeadis informs Mr. Karoulas that:
The Department of Road Transport (TOM) in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth (MoE) has given specific guidelines regarding the checking of the suitability of vehicles and drivers and which are part of the documents of the competitions conducted by the Ministry of Education.
The TOM is not involved in the selection process of the most suitable bidder, nor in its supervision during the execution of a contract for the transport of pupils for excursion purposes. Therefore, the officials of the Ministry of Education and Science working in the school units have the obligation to check on the day of the excursion if and if the instructions and specifications of the tender documents are complied with, which concern, among others:
• The age of the bus.
• The driver's valid professional license.
• The existence of an active certificate of suitability of the vehicle.
• The good condition of the vehicle inside and out.
According to Mr. Vafeadis, "the Department of Road Transport, through the Road Transport Supervisors, checks the buses that hold an emergency line license, with random checks on the road surface". If and if any violation of the law occurs, all necessary actions are taken for correction and denunciation. Due to the nature of the work of the Supervisors, the reduced staff, but also the large geographical range in which they are called to work, the on-site surveillance of all these buses in each school when conducting an excursion is impossible."
The minister's answers to the other issues raised by the DISY MP are also interesting:
"With regard to the checks carried out on bus drivers transporting children to and from schools or on excursions, how and with what frequency these checks are carried out and which certificates are issued, I inform you of the following:
-Checks of bus drivers who carry out student routes
The number of physical on-site inspections on buses running student routes, in order to verify the possession of a valid professional driver's license, as well as to comply with the Code of Conduct of drivers, is carried out on a random basis on the basis of the number of supervisory personnel. It should be noted that those checks require physical presence, as they cannot be carried out remotely by means of telematics systems or other technological means. It is noted that the Professional Driving License (HEA) is valid for 5 years and a Certificate of Professional Competence (P.E.I.) is required.
-The Periodic Training provided by Approved Driver Training Centers (EKKO) for the acquisition of the Certificate of Professional Competence is mandatory every 5 years and must have a minimum duration of 35 hours, in order to renew the Professional Driving License.
The application form for the issuance/renewal of the E.A.O. is accompanied by:
• Certificate of Professional Competence (category D for bus drivers),
• Criminal Record Certificate issued within the last 3 months,
• Certificate of Physical Fitness signed by a Doctor.
- Checks on bus drivers who carry out school trips
