Larnaca parents demand the return of cancelled school bus routes

The Federation of Associations of Parents and Guardians of Larnaca secondary schools has demanded that the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works immediately restore the cancelled school bus routes in the Larnaca area. Since the start of the school year, carrier Cyprus Public Transport has been regularly cancelling services, leaving hundreds of schoolchildren without transport to school.

The next cancellation is scheduled for 17 September, leaving students from the Alethriko area without a bus. A federation delegation plans to travel there to support the schoolchildren.

“We categorically reject the decision to cancel the agreed services,” the federation said in a statement. The parents stress that families have paid the full cost of the transport, yet are still not receiving the service.

The carrier explains the cancellations by citing students’ bad behaviour on the buses. The federation considers this justification insufficient: in its view, disciplinary cases cannot be dealt with by cancelling a service that affects all passengers on the route.

The parents are demanding the full restoration of all routes provided for in the contract and a permanent solution to prevent further cancellations. If their demands are not met, the organised parents’ response will be “intense and dynamic”, the federation warns.