I am writing this open letter to the mayor of Paphos Town to ask why ‘restrictions’ are continually being placed on public transport at a time when public transport is considered the way forward to ease congestion and protect the environment.
As a transfer coach driver for many of the hotels to the harbour, I have become more and frustrated at restriction placed on coaches, both on the main highways with the recent road works and the crazy ‘road side’ curbs installed along the tomb of the Kinds to Coral Bay road which effectively stop bus drivers from picking up at hotels and/or the designated pickup points without causing traffic jams.
I am glad to say many individuals from hotels and shops along the route have taken matters into their own hands and these did not last very long, however the craziness continues with the introduction of a ‘triangle’ coming into the harbour that has appeared in the last few days making it impossible for coaches to come directly from the Tombs of the Kings/Police Station road without having to go the longer way round of along the seafront or up past the Kato Paphos Debenhams Store, this is not only costing us more time but extra diesel and releases pollutants!
While we are on the subject of buses, the coach park at the harbour is the biggest joke on the island, as it was a place for buses dropping off at the ‘Mosaics’ who had to wait for their passengers could pull in there for a few hours, however during the summer months it is impossible to park or manoeuvre around due to the large quantity of private cars illegally parked not to mention that the buses cannot turn right out of the car park area and even more so now because of the crazy little triangle that has appeared, so instead the buses stay, sometimes all day outside the Mosaics making impossible for other buses to pickup or drop off, I have seen as many as 10 buses queued, waiting for their passengers and once they have them not being able to continue because of the jams that have been caused, not to mention private cars also parking in this ‘Buses Only’ area
I would also like to remind those powers of be that last year they tried a similar thing with ‘traffic cones’ – I guess as a trial run for this – and within a few minutes of the cones being placed they had been knocked over by at least three buses, including mine, in the desperation to get to the drop-off point at the end of the harbour. If they expect us to pull into the top of the car park and then turn left to the front road then they have another thing coming because this too gets a large number of cars parked illegally and there is no way of ‘making the turn’ from the top of the car park!
A great deal of thought has obviously gone into how the buses should enter and exit the harbour because in my opinion they simply do not want us to drop passengers there, and I hope that the already struggling business are prepared for the massive shortfall of tourists as if dropped at the top end of the car park many will not even venture to the harbour area and even if they do then they may have eaten or had a coffee elsewhere.
I would like to finish with wishing everyone a good tourist season and hope this matter can be quickly resolved before we become a laughing stock as far as public transportation is concerned.
A Paphos coach driver
