Transportation in Athens means traffic problems and the concomitant pollution
problems. Three miles commutes can take one hour by bus. That's an average
speed of 3 miles per hour- the average walking speed. Walking however is
not possible because the pollution is too bad. In the past decade, the trolley
bus (electric) and the metro systems have been created to help remedy the
situation.
Thermal Buses
247 routes
5700 km of routes
1600 vehicles
400 million passenger boardings (per year)
Trolley Buses
18 routes
324 km of routes
356 vehicles
90 million passenger boardings
| Existing: | Planned: |
| 2 lines | 3 lines |
| 18.2 km of routes | 56 km of routes |
| 216 vehicles | unknown |
| 92 million passenger boardings | Designed to carry 20,000 people per direction per hour |
New Metro Lines
- In order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the PT network,
it has been decided
to extent the light rail network (metro) by constructing 2 additional lines
(Pentagono
-Keramikos and Dafni - Sepolia) as well as upgrading the existing one.
This project is currently under construction and the main parts of the lines will be operational by the end of 1999. Half of the total funding of 2.2 billion Euros, has come from the European Union; Greece's desire to be part of Europe is beneficial.
The metro lines are mostly subways. Construction has been sporadic due to frequent discoveries of archeological sites on the planned routes. The Metro also serves the conurbation, not just Athens proper. The first line connects Athens to Piraeus, the port.
Tram
- In addition to the expansion of the metro network, a tram line will be
introduced as an intermediate mode between the metro and the bus. This tram
line will also cover the area that will be created from the unification
of a number of archaeological sites within the Central Area of Athens. This
area will form a new traffic ban zone with a complete network of walk-ways.
Bus Priority
- In order to improve the quality of the bus service and increase the bus
modal share, it has
been decided to implement wider use of bus priority schemes by operating
bus-lanes along most
main routes and bus priority measures at key intersections. Moreover, area
wide telematics for
vehicle control and real time information systems (in-vehicle and at a number
of bus stops) will
also be introduced. A map of current traffic in downtown Athens is available
here
(outside link)
Free Transport for Shopping
- Following a proposal made by OASA, the Society for the Revitalization
of the Historical
Commercial Center of Athens, agreed to promote the use of Public Transport
by participating in
the program «Free transport to the City Center for Shopping».
All shops participating in the
program will provide two free public transport tickets to customers spending
more than 5.000 GRD for shopping at their place. Public transport operators
will provide publicity with posters
mounted on their vehicles.