DOZENS of lives can be saved if the public learns to use newly introduced night buses to and from Nicosia, authorities said yesterday.
The buses, available only at the weekend and covering seven Larnaca and Nicosia district villages, will hopefully change teenagers’ and adults’ attitudes to drink driving and public transport.
Introduced on Friday night for the first time, the 57-seater buses will cover two routes. The first route will start from Lythrodontas and travel to Mathiatis, Ayia Varvara and finally Nicosia. The second route will cover the villages of Ayia Anna, Psevdas, Kornos, Delikipo and terminate in Nicosia.
On Friday and Saturday nights, the two buses will set off for Nicosia from Lythrodontas and Ayia Anna, at 7pm, 9pm and 11pm. The return trips will depart from the capital at 10pm, 1am and 3am.
On Sundays, the buses will only carry out two scheduled routes at 7pm and 9pm to Nicosia, returning at 10pm and midnight.
Once in Nicosia both buses will travel along IKEA and the Mall of Cyprus, up along Makarios Avenue to Solomou Square and on up to Vyzantiou Street in Strovolos, where a number of popular nightclubs are located. It will finally end at K-Cineplex.
The fare, which has been subsidised by the Communication Ministry, is €1 and passengers can instruct the driver to stop at any bus stop along the way.
The pilot programme came to fruition following talks between the Ministry and bus companies.
“This idea emerged through our continuous social dialogue with bus companies, which the ministry encouraged and embraced,” Permanent Secretary Makis Constantinides said.
At the moment, only one private bus company has expressed an interest in running the buses.
“Any private bus company that is interested in running the same service only needs to approach the ministry and we will look at the proposal seriously,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Peal H Elia Lythrodonta, the bus company responsible for the two routes and sister company of Iordanis Coaches Ltd, said it had first suggested running the night buses to ensure youngsters got home safe and sound.
“It can take about an hour to get from Lythrodontas to Nicosia and so 15 and 16-year-olds often caught a ride with young adults. The thing is the drivers often end up drinking and then this becomes a problem. This was a way to try and avoid accidents. Now they can board the bus and both they and their parents know they’ll get home safely,” she said.
Fifty-year-old bus driver, Yiannakis Kyriazis, who was on duty on Friday for the bus routes’ inauguration, said the idea had already taken off.
“The 1am bus coming back was almost full. At 3am there were only six or seven people, but I think it’s only because people still don’t know about them,” he said.
Last night’s passengers ranged between the ages of 18 and 22 and many of them had been drinking, he said.
“I’ve already had a few phone calls today from youngsters, who have my mobile number, asking me about the different times. This means there’s an obvious interest and I think more people will start using it,” he said.
Kyriazis urged both adults and youngsters to take advantage of the bus, saying there was no shame in even families using it on a night out.
“I felt very proud to be part of this. I only hope this programme is not shelved, because, like all motorists, I live the daily horror of accidents and I believe it will be a success,” he said.
Police chief Iacovos Papacostas said the force welcomed the introduction of night buses and that he hoped they would encourage youngsters to use public transport after a night out.
“They can have fun, drink and return home safely. Our only concern regards whether or not they’ll change attitude and use the night buses,” he said.
The Communications Minister responded to this concern by quoting Confucius: “It takes many years to change mentality, but a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
