WeeDRIVE, an app‑based minibus service for teenagers aged 12 to 18 in Limassol, has seen demand nearly triple in its second year. At a parliamentary Transport Committee hearing, the project’s scientific coordinator Maria Kamariani reported that 456 teenagers used the service during the 2025‑2026 school year with six buses in operation. In September alone the figure jumped to 1,224 users, a level she said exceeded the pilot’s capacity. The EU‑co‑funded pilot began on 5 October 2025 and is scheduled to run until December 2027. Users are split evenly between boys and girls, and 84 percent are Cypriot, contradicting earlier expert expectations and highlighting a strong local need. Parents have saved a cumulative 78 days of travel time, and 3,000 car journeys have been removed from the roads.
Funding and legal challenges now threaten the service’s continuation. The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works’ head of public passenger transport Andreas Nikiforou described WeeDRIVE as innovative and noted that a private Nicosia company has applied to run a similar service. He warned that once the EU funding ends the programme will no longer be viable, and that trip costs could rise from the current 3 to 9 euros to about 16 euros after subsidies are withdrawn. A cost study indicated that with an annual budget of 2 million euros and 22 minibuses the system could deliver 1,000 trips daily, or 250,000 trips per year, operating seven hours a day from September to June. Legal gaps remain around ad‑hoc routes, tourist coaches, school services and taxis, and the ministry is drafting legislation while contract rules for transporting minors continue to limit the number of kilometres a contractor may cover.
Local authorities strongly support the initiative. A representative of the Limassol Passenger Transport Company (EMEL) said the city is close to gridlock in the afternoons, with more than 250,000 trips a day taken to transport pupils to private lessons. "WeeDRIVE can offer a real, not theoretical, solution to the problem," the EMEL official added, noting that the service has already reached its operational limits and that a review of the public transport framework is needed to close the legal gap. A Limassol Municipality spokesperson called the service a success and expressed the municipality’s desire to see it continue.
The service operates 17‑seat minibuses that travel to Agios Tychonas, Mouttagiaka, Germasogeia, Agios Athanasios, Mesa Geitonia, Limassol centre, Kato and Pano Polemidia. Weekday runs are from 14:30 to 20:30, Saturdays from 09:00 to 16:00, excluding public holidays. Parents download the app, create a family account, input their children’s weekly activity schedules, and book trips up to midnight the day before. The app plans the most efficient routes, offers door‑to‑door pick‑up and drop‑off, real‑time GPS tracking, and trip notifications. All minibuses are fully wheelchair accessible, and drivers undergo special training for child transport. Credit is topped up in a family wallet to cover the current 3‑9 euro fare.