Ioanna Kyriakou
In recent days, there has been a lot of talk about the increased traffic at the entrance of Nicosia. Many people think this is because of the new bus lane that started operating on September 4th. But Aristotelis Savva, the Executive Engineer of Public Works, told "K" that it's not because of the bus lane. He mentioned that the road was widened to create the lane, and it didn't take space away from private vehicles. Mr. Savva suggested that the traffic increase might be due to workers going back to their jobs and schools reopening.
On another note, they launched a new Park & Ride service today, hoping to help ease the traffic jam at the entrance of Nicosia and in the city center. The idea behind the new bus lane was to help people using this service get to their destination faster and more comfortably, according to the Cyprus Public Transport (CPT). Mr. Savva mentioned that not many people showed interest in the first few hours, but there were some passengers. They plan to run an advertising campaign to let people know about the service, and they hope more people will start using it when they see that it works.
However, the commercial director of the Public Transport Company, Alexandros Kamberos, reported on the radio that only six people used Park & Ride in the first two hours. He mentioned that he managed to get to the city center in just 25 minutes during the busiest time.
Here's some information about the new service: It's available from Monday to Friday, starting at 6:00 AM and ending at 4:00 PM. The buses will run often during rush hours, about every 10 to 15 minutes, and less frequently during other times. People who use this service can park their cars for free at GSP Stadium and ride to the city center for free as well.
The President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides, spoke to reporters at the Presidential Palace after visiting the Acropolis High School for the new school year. When asked about the traffic issue, he mentioned that they will review the new Park & Ride program at the end of the month. If they need to make changes to improve it, they will.
[This article was translated from its Greek original]
