A new call centre will provide support for people with questions or issues regarding the road transport department’s (TOM) remit, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades said on Monday.

“[The hotline] will serve citizens who want to contact the department of road transport for any reason,” Vafeades said during the signing of the contract.

He added that, until now, the quality of support provided had not met the ministry’s criteria, emphasising that the new call centre is expected to solve a significant problem.

“Today, with this action, the call centre will operate on a much more professional basis and thus citizens will be served much better within the six weeks that we expect this action to be completed. We will definitely see a huge difference,” Vafeades said.

In the context of the ongoing replacement of Takata airbags and the associated issues, he said that staff in the call centre could provide relevant assistance.

“Securing an appointment to implement a recall is done between the citizens and the company handling the recall,” he said, however adding that the department “of course, has never refused to move towards the companies on behalf of the citizens.”

The first cars subject to the Takata recall were immobilised at the beginning of October.

In February, Vafeades announced an eight-month grace period for vehicle owners, which then expired.

As of the beginning of November, 63,144 of the 81,060 defective airbags identified in Cyprus as part of the global recall of potentially faulty airbags manufactured by the Japanese company Takata had been replaced.

According to the transport ministry, most of the recalled vehicles already have replacement airbags.

Another 4,327 Takata replacement appointments have been scheduled until the end of January, contingent on part availability and owner response to scheduling appointments.