Budapest mayor Gergely Karácsony has restated his idea for schools to begin teaching at a later time as of September, in order to avoid overcrowding on public transport.
Karácsony makes reference to Budapest public transport company BKK’s survey which found that some 40% of passengers in the morning peak period are students. If students over the age of 14 could start classes between 8:30 and 9 o’clock, this would significantly reduce the load, Karácsony says. He also revealed that he has previously negotiated with school leaders regarding the proposal.
“We hope that in September the epidemic will no longer determine our daily lives, but it must definitely remain a primary aspect so that the people of Budapest can feel safe on public transport,” Karácsony argued.
This is the second time Karácsony has proposed the idea, as he did so one year ago. At that time, the government received the proposal coldly, while others were also divided. The Ministry of Human Capacities (EMMI), however, confirmed that there was no legislation on when to start teaching- this was up to the institutions to decide.
Actually, some of the institutions did apply such modifications. For example, last July, the Rector of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), in order to avoid overcrowding decided that educational activities were not to begin before 8:15 a.m, while those that were scheduled for 8:15 should start fifteen minutes later.
featured image illustration via Zsolt Szigetváry/MTI