Cabinet on Wednesday approved the provision of free bus travel for people whose vehicles have been immobilised as part of government decrees related to faulty airbags and other faults on cars.

Exactly 276 vehicles across Cyprus were immobilised on Monday, with their road tax and MOT certificates immediately rescinded.

Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades also confirmed to the Cyprus Mail that any driver of a vehicle impacted by the recalls who elects to immobilise their own vehicle will also be offered free bus travel.

Those eligible will be issued ‘Motion cards’, which users scan upon boarding a bus. The cards will be usable on all buses throughout the Republic of Cyprus.

The cards can be obtained from points of sale of Cyprus’ public transport companies, with those eligible required to present themselves physically at the points of sale.

Those eligible will also be required to present proof of ownership of an immobilised vehicle, and, in the event they immobilised it themselves, proof it has been immobilised.

They will also have to present their identity card and complete a form.

The card will then be cancelled as and when the recall comes to an end and the owner’s vehicle returns to use.

The recalls are largely related to faulty airbags manufactured by Japanese company Takata.

Takata airbags suffer a fault related to exposure to high levels of heat or humidity, with which means they have a tendency to explode when released under such circumstances.

This explosion shoots the airbag’s metal inflator outwards and in the direction of the person it was designed to protect, potentially causing further injuries or, in some cases, death.

The issue of faulty Takata airbags has been ongoing for over two years, with it believed that the death of 24-year-old Kyriakos Oxinos in January 2023 was caused in part by a faulty airbag.

More recently, it is now believed that the death of 19-year-old Styliani Giorgalli in October may have been caused by a faulty Takata airbag.