All school buses back in action

All regular school bus services resumed operations on Monday morning after chaotic scenes last week when buses were pulled to fit fire retardant systems.

Speaking to CyBC radio on Monday, president of the Secondary Education Parents’ Associations Loizos Constantinou said that all 580 buses previously taken out of service were now in full operation.

He highlighted that within just one week, automatic fire extinguishing systems had been ordered, received and installed on all buses.

But he added that fire extinguishing systems have not yet been installed on buses used by schools for trips, “as agreements for those directly involve school management” rather than the ministry.

Constantinou admitted that that some of the latter “might still lack the automatic fire extinguishing system” and demanded that all undergo necessary inspections.

Meanwhile, president of the Private Secondary Schools Parents’ Associations Kitsa Georgiadou said no inspections have been conducted on buses serving private school students.

She said the issue would be raised at a meeting on the issue on Wednesday.

Stressing the necessity to upgrade all buses, including the ones used by private school students, she requested inspections to determine whether these buses can count on safety systems suitable for transporting students.

Georgiadou added that private school students use either regular bus lines or vehicles owned by independent companies and contracted by schools.