Sweeping checks have uncovered hundreds of drivers bus drivers who declared sickness to work in parallel in tourist vehicles while being paid regularly.
A page turner in public transport brings the revelation of a long-standing illegal practice, which deprived critical personnel from the roads and unnecessarily burdened state coffers.
Through extensive investigations launched by the ministry Transport and Infrastructure, a large number of SSI drivers were identified who, although appearing medically unfit for work, were routinely employed in tourist transport.
This situation resulted in the downgrading of services provided to citizens, at the same time that these workers continued to receive their public wages as normal.
The intervention of the Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Konstantinos Kyranakis, has been crucial, as the introduction of a new, strong evaluation framework has brought the scale of the problem to the surface. The figures are shocking, as due to shortages of drivers, more than 500,000 journeys were cancelled during 2024 alone, causing huge inconvenience to the travelling public.
The figures show that out of a total of 2,700 workers, some 700 drivers have been removed from their duties citing health issues, with a significant proportion of them working secretly in the private sector.
The new process of checking professional licences, which was activated on December 1, 2025, now requires those referred to health boards to surrender their licence within two days, otherwise it is automatically suspended.
Already, the first 150 drivers have returned to driving, while for 300 cases, licence revocation is being considered. Meanwhile, 250 people opted to leave the service in the face of fear of sanctions.
Ministry circles make it clear that the target is not people with genuine health problems, but the crackdown on abusive behaviour that worked to the detriment of taxpayers and public urban transport.
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