Limassol's chronic traffic gridlock is the direct result of faulty urban planning choices made 25 years ago, leaving the city short on physical road space to implement easy solutions, according to Giorgos Kyriakou, chief executive of bus operator EMEL. Despite severe daily congestion across the urban network, public transport adoption is rising rapidly. Independent telematics data records show EMEL carried roughly 5.14 million passengers in the first nine months of 2026, up from 4.36 million in the same period of 2025, marking an increase of about 780,000 riders. Kyriakou warned that heavy traffic severely impacts daily operations across the district, where EMEL completed 293,368 trips during the nine-month period, adding that bus drivers are on the verge of a nervous breakdown due to constant delays beyond their control.
Operating a fleet of more than 200 modern buses, EMEL faces four to five traffic accidents daily that disrupt scheduling across the system. Kyriakou stressed that while the company maintains one of the most advanced fleets in Europe, buses are forced to move like tortoises due to the lack of dedicated public transport infrastructure. Bus lanes built under the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) remain unused amid ongoing objections from local businesses and residents. Kyriakou urged state authorities to enact bus lanes and priority traffic lights without endless delays, highlighting critical corridors such as the seafront route, which handles 130 daily trips averaging 48 passengers per run every seven to ten minutes, as well as Nikou Pattichi Street.
Addressing the historical root of the gridlock, Kyriakou explained that planning for the main Limassol motorway began in 1983 when the northern section of the city had only 20,000 residents compared to 120,000 today. Originally designed to connect Paphos to Nicosia, the highway now operates as a congested urban avenue that effectively splits Limassol in two. Crossing local roundabouts between northern neighbourhoods, such as travelling from Agia Fyla to Kapsalos or Agios Athanasios to Mesa Geitonia, can easily consume half an hour. He noted that while the long-awaited northern bypass could divert intercity transit, it will not fully solve daily commuting struggles from northern suburbs to the city centre.
Resolving the mobility crisis requires structured coordination between government departments, local municipalities, and transport providers. EMEL is moving forward with key infrastructure plans, supported by an agreement with the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) to complement the Cabinet-approved central bus station on Aiolou Street. CUT is providing operational space at the old hospital site to host support facilities, telematics control, and station masters. EMEL is also establishing direct bus connections from the Berengaria area to the university campus, offering students reliable transport alternatives to private car ownership.