Primary school pupils in the north-eastern part of Limassol district removed safety hammers, abused the driver and forced a school bus to stop mid-route on Thursday, May 7 — an incident that appears to mark the first time primary-age children have triggered a safety halt on a Cyprus school bus.
Previous serious incidents on school buses had involved secondary and lyceum pupils. This time, according to Petros Theocharides, Development and Communications Director of EMEL, the pupils also moved around near the driver in a disruptive manner, hit the seats, and blocked the escort’s attempts to restore order. Neither the escort nor the driver could bring the situation under control, and the driver followed safety protocol and stopped the bus.
A state supervisory authority representative was called and eventually managed to calm the situation. “After considerable effort, he managed to calm the pupils down — some of whom questioned his authority and offered various justifications for their behaviour,” Theocharides said.
What followed compounded the incident: some parents argued that both the driver and the supervisory representative had been too strict. “Some parents expressed their intention to report the supervisor to higher authorities and make complaints on social media,” Theocharides added.
The driver refused to work the same route again. Under current protocol, if a similar incident recurs, the route will be suspended for safety reasons. The school’s headmaster and parent association members were informed and intervened, and routes are now running partially normally.
Theocharides said a key problem persisted: on stretches of the route passing through narrow or dangerous rural roads, young pupils stand up, refuse to wear seatbelts and move around inside the bus while it is in motion.
Read more: