The Ministry of Transportation has reported incidents of vandalism, damage, and disruptive behavior by students on school buses and has raised safety concerns for the children. At the same time, it is calling on parents “to actively help ensure that students behave appropriately while riding the buses.”
Read the announcement in its entirety:
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The Ministry of Transportation, Communications, and Public Works has consistently placed the safety of students using the school bus service at the top of its priorities.
For the 2026–2027 school year, the Ministry is stepping up inspections and strictly enforcing the provisions of the law and contracts regarding the safety of student transportation. For this reason, both before and after the start of the school year, it conducted multiple inspections of the buses providing student transportation services. These inspections go well beyond the requirements of national legislation and the contracts with service providers (passenger bus companies). The purpose of the inspections is to ensure that routes serving students are operated only by vehicles that fully meet safety requirements. With the same rigor, the Ministry enforces the provisions of the law and contracts in cases of violations by the providers themselves and/or the drivers.
However, safety in student transportation does not depend solely on the technical condition of the vehicles. It depends equally on the conditions inside the vehicles during the trips. The Ministry will not show any leniency in this area either.
In recent days, there have been isolated incidents of vandalism and damage to school buses, as well as incidents of rowdy behavior and inappropriate conduct by students. Similar incidents have occurred in previous school years as well. On a bus carrying students, such behavior poses a serious danger and impairs the bus driver’s ability to concentrate on performing their duties. Throwing objects, verbally and/or physically harassing drivers, students moving around while the vehicle is in motion, smoking, and damage to seats or safety equipment endanger all passengers and, above all, the other students.
Property damage also has a direct impact on the operation of the service, as damaged buses may need to be temporarily taken out of service for inspection and repair. Replacing them immediately is not always feasible, due to the limited number of available buses and drivers. In cases where the safe operation of a route cannot be guaranteed, its temporary suspension is unavoidable until safe operation can be restored.
The Ministry calls on parents and guardians, as well as Parent-Teacher Associations, to actively help ensure that students behave appropriately during their commute. In particular, it asks that they inform the children that they must:
- remain in their seats throughout the entire trip,
- respect the vehicle, the driver, and their fellow passengers and classmates,
- report to the driver or their school administration any incident that endangers their safety.
Responsible behavior on public transportation is part of the education of tomorrow’s citizens.
The Ministry clarifies that these measures are not directed against conscientious students, who constitute the overwhelming majority. On the contrary, they are intended to protect them from behavior that endangers their safety. In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Youth, school administrations, parents, and Parent-Teacher Associations, every possible effort will be made to identify those responsible and restore the bus routes as soon as possible.
The Ministry expresses its regret for the inconvenience caused to students and their families by the suspension of bus routes. It assures the public that the safe transportation of students is and will remain its top priority.
The issue of school bus routes was discussed on the Alpha News program by Kostas Kostas, President of the Larnaca Secondary Education Parents’ Federation, and Tryfon Hatzichristoforou:
