The behaviour of some bus drivers must be addressed

Dear Sirs,

On the 13th of July, I planned to travel from Radisson Beach Hotel bus station to Limassol. I arrived at the bus stop with my dog at 6:50am, aiming to catch the 7:30am bus to Limassol from Finikoudes station. However, the first bus I could take (425) didn’t come until 7:40am, arriving at Finikoudes at 7:57am.

I am grateful to the bus driver, who, understanding my urgency, drove efficiently. Thanks to the driver’s effort, I arrived in time to catch the 8:00am bus to Limassol.

How can this system serve travellers going to the airport? Unbelievable!

Unfortunately, the driver of the Limassol bus refused to allow my dog on board, despite my dog being an assistance animal and securely placed in a travel bag that I have used on other buses and even on airplanes.

The dog weighs only 7kg, and I had all the necessary documentation to prove its status as an assistance animal. Nonetheless, the driver insisted that my dog needed to be in a cage and placed in the luggage compartment, despite the temperature outside being 40 degrees Celsius. What would it be in the luggage compartment?? Did he want to kill my dog?

When I questioned his judgment, I expressed my intention to call the police and I also attempted to contact the Intercity bus office, but to no avail. The previous day, 12th of July, I had called the Intercity office to confirm that travelling with my dog would not be an issue, and the lady I spoke to assured me there would be no problems.

In the end, I had to call a BOLT taxi and spend €71 because the bus driver refused to let us board.

This raises concerns about the training and attitude of some drivers within the organisation, who may misuse their authority. While many drivers are kind and accommodating, others, like the one on the 8am Larnaca to Limassol bus on the 13th of July, can be quite unreasonable and unkind.

I hope that this issue can be addressed to prevent similar experiences for other passengers in the future.

Given these circumstances, I would appreciate it if the company could reimburse the €71 I had to spend on the taxi. This is the minimum they could do because I was one hour late to my business booth at an exhibition at Carob Mill starting at 9am.

Thank you for your understanding and prompt attention to this matter.

Best regards,

Doris Taussig