Every time fuel prices rise, we rediscover the same problem. Cyprus is exceptionally dependent on the car and, consequently, on international fuel prices.
The latest energy shock has brought that vulnerability back into focus. We debate new support measures and call on the government to intervene, but no subsidy can eliminate the fundamental problem of higher energy costs. We will continue to need our cars because, in many cases, we have been given no realistic alternative.
Decades of plans, but little conviction
For decades, Cyprus has discussed the need to develop public transport.
Plans, studies, sustainable mobility strategies and countless announcements have passed through the Cabinet and government departments.
The debate over better buses, reliable routes, connections between cities, suburban rail and other forms of fixed-track transport repeatedly returns.
What has not been equally consistent is the political commitment to creating a genuine public transport system.
Had we truly believed in public transport, we would not still be talking about how to “encourage” people to leave their cars at home. We would have built a network reliable enough to allow them to do so.
The car is often not a choice
The problem is not that Cypriots simply love their cars too much.
For many, there is no practical alternative.
Getting to work, taking children to school, shopping or travelling between cities often still requires a car.
Today, we are paying a heavy price for that lack of choice.
When fuel becomes more expensive, it is not merely the cost of an individual journey that rises. The cost of everyday life rises with it.
More money spent on fuel means less available for food, rent, loan repayments, education and leisure.
For a household that needs two cars because dependable public transport does not exist, an energy crisis becomes a double financial burden.
Public transport is economic policy
That is the political cost of decades of inaction.
Public transport is not simply environmental policy. It is economic policy, social policy and energy-security policy.
Energy independence is not only about how much natural gas Cyprus can secure or how rapidly it can expand renewable energy.
It is also about how dependent citizens are on their cars simply to live their everyday lives.
Let us be honest.
Our politicians never truly believed in public transport.
They implemented the minimum.
And the minimum is no longer enough.
