Cameras may be installed on school buses in Cyprus, while parents could pay for vandalism damage

Surveillance cameras in bus interiors, security guards on buses and an obligation for parents to pay for damage caused by their children — these measures were discussed by the parliamentary transport committee at a meeting on the readiness of school transport services for the new school year.

Georgios Loukas, a representative of the Road Transport Department, said that 761 buses had passed inspection, while another 40 vehicles had not received their certificates and would not be allowed to transport schoolchildren. By July, the department had inspected 442 buses, with another 319 added since August. Around 600 vehicles are required for school routes across Cyprus. Inspectors checked their technical condition, fire safety certificates, documents and drivers’ licences.

In September and throughout the rest of the school year, 10 inspectors will carry out surprise checks on routes.

The discussion about cameras arose because of the behaviour of some schoolchildren. Pampos Kapnos, chairman of the association of tourist bus owners, which brings together 40 companies involved in school transport, spoke about property damage, the theft of safety equipment and injuries to drivers. Security guards have already been deployed on buses three times — twice in Larnaca and once in Nicosia — but the Road Transport Department acknowledged that the results had not met expectations.

Loizos Konstantinou, head of the confederation of parents’ associations of public secondary schools, noted that around 25,000 students use school buses, while offenders account for only a small percentage. Student representative Despina Kyprianou raised another issue — overcrowding: a bus designed for 32 passengers carries noticeably more children.

Committee chairman Sotiris Ioannou said that no bus failing to meet all the requirements would be allowed to operate. Transport, Communications and Works Minister Evi Tsolakі promised that the ministry would address problems as they arise.