School bus

Targeted inspections of 1,621 school buses by traffic police Wednesday revealed a wide array of safety violations, including two cases of drivers not having the required driving license, three without a certificate of professional competence, and one vehicle with worn tires.

With summer break nearing its end and students preparing to return to school, parents are facing nail-biting concerns over bus fares, as some companies and institutions are raising costs by over 100 percent, disregarding the 16 percent official hike set by Istanbul Municipality's Transportation Coordination Center (UKOME).

More than 10 vehicles, among them five school buses, were set ablaze in an arson attack in the Zografou district of central Athens, shortly after 3 a.m. on Thursday. 

The fire is believed to have started from the school buses and spread to the other vehicles, destroying five school busses, four cars and three motorcycles, all parked on Taxilou Street.

The Interior Ministry has sent a circular detailing strategies for enhancing oversight and surveillance of schools while also preparing school bus drivers with specialized training to all the country's 81 provinces.

A 66-year-old school bus driver was arrested in Kalivia, southeast of Athens, for driving without a license. The arrest took place during a routine police inspection of school buses on Wednesday.

With the new changes in the traffic regulation entered into force as of Aug. 16, it has become mandatory for minibuses, buses and taxis to have a three-point seat belt for children, while motorcycle, e-scooter and bicycle riders are required to wear reflective vests at night.

Parents and students in Istanbul are having a hard time as some 10,000 school buses are now off the roads because the drivers of those vehicles, fearing that schools may be closed again because of COVID-19, have not returned to their jobs.

A three-member court in Athens on Friday handed a six-month suspended sentence to the school bus driver and two escorts for abandoning a 3-year-old boy in a bus for at least three hours on October 2019.

The court, accepting the prosecutor's proposal, turned the charge of exposing a child to danger to negligent bodily harm.

A school bus driver and two escorts were arrested on Wednesday on charges of exposing a child to danger after abandoning a 3-year-old boy in a bus for at least three hours.

The incident occurred on Tuesday morning in the suburb of Pallini, eastern Attica, after the bus picked up children from their homes and transported them to a privater daycare center.

The average taxi, school bus and minibus fares have been increased significantly at a Transportation Coordination Center (UKOME) meeting on Aug. 27.