He will have a meeting with the organized parents of Secondary Education after the 15th of August, in order to discuss their reactions to the announced increase in the monthly school bus fees, the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Alexis Vafeadis, told KYPE.
As he noted, during the meeting solutions will be considered through the possibilities of public finances.
At the same time, Mr. Vafeadis referred to his statements to KYPE on the issue of suitability and safety of buses, stating that the Ministry of Transport is considering the possibility of requesting that the technical inspection for the suitability of buses be more recent
With regard to the increase in school bus fares, the Minister of Transport explained that the facts as they are, is the contract that exists with the company that manages the buses, in which it is stipulated that from June 1st they had the possibility to increase the fees student bus fares 100%, i.e. from 10 euros to 20 euros per month.
He added that after discussions he had with the company, it agreed not to make the increases for the months of June and July and stated that it will proceed with an increase in fees for the new school year.
Mr. Vafiadis he added that his Ministry “decided to absorb by 50% the increase of 5 euros, so that the students are not burdened with the entire amount of the increase of 10 euros, but with only 5 euros”.
He then said that in the relevant announcement of the Ministry of Transport it is stated that with the start of the new School Year 2023-2024 the monthly student fee was set at 15 euros instead of 20 euros and the organized parents reacted to this increase.
He stated that in view of the reactions and after communication he had with the President of the Confederation of Federations of Associations of Parents of Public Schools of Secondary Education, Loizos Konstantinou, a meeting was planned after August 16.
During the meeting, the Minister of Transport said, ” the effects on parents will be examined and what can be done to improve the situation”.
He stressed that “the intention of the Government is for passenger transport to be free”, but noted that there are state budget constraints that must be taken into account “and see how we can help”.
Asked what following the meeting with the organized parents, the Minister of Transport said that “by talking with them we will try to understand what is happening, how they are affected and we will examine ways in which we can help”.
Mr. Vafiadis He further stated that the Ministry of Transport will also look into the issue of the suitability of school buses to ensure that the buses that transport students to and from school have passed the technical inspection and are suitable, with a particular focus on school field trips buses. which had problems last year.
He finally noted that the Ministry of Transport is considering the possibility of requesting that the technical inspection for the suitability of the buses be more recent.
