AROUND 150 rural bus drivers caused near gridlock on Nicosia’s streets yesterday as they drove their buses en masse into the city to protest against government plans to radically reform and upgrade public transportation.
The bus drivers’ demonstration, which took place outside the Ministry of Communications, the Parliament and the Presidential Palace, was peaceful but caused severe tailbacks on major routes through the city.
The government bill, currently before the House of Representatives, aims to gradually increase the number of buses to 1,200, replace older vehicles, increase the number of routes inside towns, set up a night-bus service catering for both tourists and locals, and have more frequent connections between rural areas and urban centres. The upgrade plan will start on September 1 and is expected to be completed over three years.
Under the proposal, which aims to tweak the island’s bus services, six bus companies would be established to replace the some 220 companies currently in existence. Five of these would cover each of the districts (Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol, Paphos, Famagusta), the sixth company would handle interurban routes.
Most bus drivers in urban areas support the changes, but the response from rural bus drivers has been far more sceptical. The main point of disagreement for these drivers is the amount they will receive in compensation if they decide to leave the profession.
“The bus owners demand to be better informed about the government’s future plans to reform transportation, something that has not been done at the moment. They are not asking for high compensation, but they are demanding to reassurances about their future jobs,” said Panayiotis Matheou, president of the rural bus committee.
Spyros Georgiou, coordinator of the rural bus demonstration, called on the Auditor General to investigate who is really going to benefit from the new bill.
The Ministry of Communication Nicos Nicolaides said yesterday that it was not possible to get into any negotiations before the voting of the new bill, adding that the majority of drivers agreed with the proposed law.
The protesting drivers, meanwhile, are planning a 24-hour, islandwide demonstration in all major cities next Thursday morning when 500 buses will participate.
