Parents should rest easy the night before their children’s school trips, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades has said, whilst revealing that safety checks on buses and drivers are conducted by Education Ministry officials rather than the Road Transport Department.
In response to parliamentary questions from DISY MP Giorgos Karoulas regarding controls on drivers and buses, the minister clarified the unusual arrangement whereby education officials carry out technical transport inspections.
Education ministry responsibilities
Education Ministry officials must check bus age, drivers’ valid professional licences, active vehicle fitness certificates, and good internal and external vehicle condition on the day of school trips.
Minister Vafeades explained that Road Transport Department supervision is impossible due to “reduced staff and the large geographical scope they need to cover”.
The Transport Minister detailed that the Road Transport Department (TOM), in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, has provided specific guidelines regarding vehicle and driver suitability checks, which form part of tender documents conducted by the Ministry.
Limited transport department involvement
“TOM is not involved in selecting the most suitable bidder, nor in supervising during execution of student transport contracts for trip purposes,” the minister stated. “Therefore, Ministry officials working in school units have the obligation to check on the trip day whether tender document instructions and specifications are followed”.
These specifications include bus age, valid driver professional licences, active vehicle fitness certificates, and good internal and external vehicle condition.
Sampling checks on roadways
The Road Transport Department conducts “sampling checks on roadways” of buses holding emergency route licences through Road Transport Inspectors. When violations arise, “all necessary actions are taken for correction and reporting”.
However, “due to the nature of Inspectors’ work, reduced staff, and large geographical scope they must cover, on-site supervision of all such buses at every school conducting trips is impossible,” the minister acknowledged.
Driver certification requirements
Professional Driving Licences (PDL) remain valid for five years and require Professional Competence Certificates (PCC). Periodic training from Approved Driver Training Centres is mandatory every five years with a minimum 35-hour duration for PDL renewal.
Applications for PDL issue or renewal must include Professional Competence Certificates (Category D for bus drivers), Criminal Record Certificates issued within the last three months, and Physical Fitness Certificates signed by doctors.
Roadside enforcement challenges
The number of physical on-site checks for buses conducting student routes to verify valid professional driving licence possession and adherence to drivers’ Code of Ethics occurs “on a sampling basis according to supervisory staff numbers”.
These checks require physical presence, as they “cannot be conducted remotely through telematics systems or other technological means,” the minister noted.
