OVER 30,000 public school pupils will have access to a free school bus service from tomorrow, said Communications Minister Nicos Nicolaides yesterday, launching the first phase of a universal free bus service for pupils.
The new bus service will be available to high school (gymnasium and lyceum) and technical school pupils in all urban areas of Cyprus. From the 90 urban schools of Middle and Technical Education, 62 will have buses exclusively transporting pupils to and from the schools. The remaining 28 schools will be partially covered by existing public transport infrastructure until more buses can be brought in to extend the free service to all urban schools.
Almost 70 per cent of urban schools will be covered by the new service completely. In Nicosia, 22 out of 32 schools will have new exclusive school bus routes, 12 out of 30 in Limassol, all 12 schools in Larnaca, all 12 in Paphos, and all four in Paralimni and Dherynia.
Nicolaides said this first phase was part of a gradual implementation of the government’s election programme.
“Our aim and intention is for this measure to have universal application in the coming years,” he said.
“This measure is part of our wider plan to implement a modern, effective system of public transport in our country,” added Nicolaides.
The minister highlighted that the new service would achieve multiple goals: reduce traffic congestion in urban centres, save citizens money, give parents more time, reduce pollution, reduce road accidents and cultivate greater awareness of public transport use.
“Above all, I believe this service will change the attitude of Cypriot youth, who are tomorrow’s citizens, towards public transport,” he said.
The cost to the state of the free service is estimated to be €3m for 2008 and €7m for 2009. The exact cost will depend on the number of pupils that use the buses.
Pamphlets will be handed out to all pupils in the designated schools for parents to fill out a form stating whether they want their children to use the service and if so, from which bus stop they wish to be picked up. The pupils will then be issued with bus cards which they can use for the new school bus routes but also for existing bus routes. They can use the free bus card to get to their extra lessons in the afternoon too, noted Nicolaides.
Over 30,000 pupils will have access to the new scheme, which will be served by 300 buses, 150 bus routes and 3,500 bus stops, of which 1,500 are new. The buses will have a yellow plaque on the front listing the schools covered on its route.
The minister said the aim was to serve as many pupils as possible. For now, the biggest limitation is the lack of buses available. “But once it’s possible to cover more schools, we will do so immediately,” he said.
Based on existing research, Nicolaides said he believed more than 15,000 of the 30,000 eligible pupils will use the service.
“We estimate that around 10,000 cars will not be used to take children to school. It’s just a start. We have a five-year plan to bring in 1,000 new buses and increase Cypriot citizens’ use of public transport from two per cent to 10 per cent,” he said.
The minister highlighted the success of the new airport bus services, which have already been used by over 25,000 people.
“When appropriate services are offered, Cypriots will leave their cars at home.
It’s not utopian to say we can convince Cypriots to use public transport,” he added.
Regarding the safety of the buses, Nikolaides was categorical: “the school buses that will transport our children will do so with the requisite safety and care.” All buses are up to standard, but as an extra measure, the Road Transport Department (RTD) will conduct further tests on all 300 buses within the next three months.
As of midday today, parents can see the schools and routes included in the free service on the RTD website at: www.mcw.gov.cy/rtd.
For further information, call these numbers: Nicosia 22-778841, Limassol 25-354050, Larnaca 24-650477, Famagusta 23-821318 and Paphos 26-934252.
