North Corfu parents want school bus service to start ΄yesterday΄
CORFU. Letter from North Corfu Parents & Guardians Association to the competent authorities.
An appeal for immediate action to commence school transportation on Corfu is being made by North Corfu Parents and Guardians Association to the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the island's MPs, Gikas, Avlonitis and Biagis, the Regional Governor of the Ionian Islands and the Deputy Regional Governor Kostas Zorbas, due to the serious problem affecting approximately 3,000 pupils in Corfu and their families:
"The new school year began two weeks ago, and once again, there are no school buses. The majority of pupils in North Corfu reside in villages far from schools, making it necessary to transport them using school buses.
The responsible services for school transportation in the Ionian Islands Region in Corfu started a new tender process late (on September 1) for assigning routes to transport companies, with a deadline for expression of interest until September 6. Such a competition, of course, follows a specific and time-consuming procedure (submission of applications, evaluation of applications, technical evaluation, finance committee), resulting not only in the routes not having started but also there are no assurances and specific timetable for the regularisation of all school buses.
According to the latest update from the relevant department of the Ionian Islands Regional Administration to our Association, the following information has been provided:
-
There have been successful applications for17 routes that are expected to proceed to the next phase of the competition (the finance committee), and these routes only pertain to Central and South Corfu.
-
There are 31 unsuccessful routes that need to be re-announced following the usual time-consuming procedure.
-
There are 115 routes currently pending due to deficiencies in documentation and technical evaluation, with no specific timeline provided for this. We understand and demand that the full legal process of technical evaluation be followed since it concerns the safe transportation of our children. However, we find the timing of the competition process to be inappropriate.
No alternative solution has been provided; for example, an immediate extension of last year's contracts and the commencement of routes, as last year's contracts with the contractors were deemed invalid.
As parents, we are struggling daily to transport our children to and from school. The majority of parents in North Corfu work and depend on tourism, so it is inconceivable for them to be absent from work during this period. As a result, up to 7 children are crammed into each car to reach school, many children don't even go to school, or they go by taxi.
Unfortunately, today, on Tuesday, September 26th, the first traffic accident occurred outside a school in North Corfu while there were children in the car trying to get to school. The danger that exists during the arrival and departure of children from the dozens of vehicles and the congestion that occurs outside the schools is significant. We cannot wait even one more day for the completion of this time-consuming competition.
We are requesting immediate action to restore school transportation. Every child should be in school starting tomorrow, and the daily inconvenience for parents must stop.
With appreciation and always at your disposal,
For the Board of Directors of the Association,
The President, Aspasia Protopsalti
The Secretary, Amalia-Penelope Goudeli"
