The Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Mr. Yannis Karousos attended today's meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Culture, and briefed members of the Committee on the study currently underway in relation to, inter alia, the implementation of rolling working hours in the public service, schools and other organisations to tackle traffic congestion, and how any changes in public sector working hours and education will affect traffic.
During the session, Mr Karousos announced before the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Culture the new action by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works to bus primary school pupils from home to their schools. The action will be piloted next September.
Specifically, the Minister of Transport explained that pupils will be picked up and dropped off from and to their homes by bus in the presence of an escort. The pilot programme, Karousos said, will be implemented for a period of six months and schools from urban, tourist, remote, border and mountainous areas have been selected in order to record possible problems that may arise at the pilot implementation stage. According to Mr.Karousos, the aim is to implement the programme in all primary schools in Cyprus with the start of the school year in September 2023. Minister said that traffic congestion during morning and afternoon rush hours is a matter of concern for the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works and various actions have already begun to be implemented, such as the installation of smart systems at traffic lights to manage traffic, as well as the strengthening of public transport.
He explained that the Ministry, as part of the preparation of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan of Nicosia (SUMP), the first deliverable will be the study in relation to the rolling hours and in this direction it is currently conducting a study with measurements, simulations and questionnaires. We are awaiting the results of the study with great interest, said Mr. Karousos
"The modification of the working hours of public sector employees and teachers, combined with the opening hours of schools, I believe will significantly improve the traffic situation and any decision on the Public Service should also apply to schools. We will soon have the study with the proposals and suggestions and we should wait for the study before making any decision, since the goal is to solve the traffic problem and not to move it from one hour to another."
Both the Chairman and members of the Parliamentary Committee expressed the need to solve the serious problem of traffic congestion and said they would look forward to the results of the study. They thanked the Minister for his presence at the Committee meeting and for the views he presented.
(MKKY/SX)
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