Passengers choose Athens Transport
The project, developments and improvements for passengers in the industry of public transportwas the subject of the event they held the Superfund and Athens Communications (OASA-STASY-OSY Group), today, at the Museum of Cycladic Art, where the dynamic return of the passenger public to the Mass Transport (MMT) of Athens.
According to the data presented, Athens provides the second cheapest ticket in the EU.
Athens Communications records upward trajectory in their main operating pillarsunder the central planning of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, with the creation of an advanced governance model for the Group being a priority, as it seeks to utilize the knowledge and skills of its people.
The overall action plan concerns significant improvement of passenger servicesfocusing on infrastructure renewal and interventions at stations for better access for the disabled.
As mentioned during the presentation, the Athens Transport Group monitors the dynamic increase in the use of MMM and quickly adapts to new requirements. Specifically, by 2025, a significant renewal of the fleet with 951 new vehicles is being implemented, with the initiative and funding of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, while the renovated trains of line 1 will be delivered in parts.
At the same time, the OASA is dealing with challenge fare evasion in order to continue operating on a balanced budget. Decarbonisation efforts are also being intensified with a target of -3% for 2024, as the Group aims for a passenger-centric – sustainable organization.
Particular importance is given to incorporating innovation for the benefit of passengers. The Telematics system is being upgraded, allowing faster and more reliable transmission of information, with the installation of 500 additional “smart stops” on the streets of Athens, while all 7,500 stops of the capital’s transportation network are gradually becoming “smart” by installing QR Codes, allowing the direct connection of smartphones to the OASA Telematics application. At the same time, artificial intelligence is used to inform the public through the chatbot application (already in 2023 there were 316,000 interactions with the public). Also, contactless transactions (EMV) are being introduced with the Tap ‘n Pay program for MMM travel with the use of bank cards, which is a cut in urban transport.
Alongside, Athens Communications’ strategic aim is to further contribute to the green transition, through increasing the use of MMMs, the shift to electrification and zero-emission technologies, as well as innovative interventions. For example: the recovery of energy from the braking of the Metro trains, the upgrading of the infrastructure, the installation of photovoltaics, the replacement of light bulbs, etc.
It is noted that 2024 is an important year, as the drafting of the new Attica Strategic Transport Plan will begin (SSMA) which will essentially record and specify the needs of the urban transport network in a twenty-year horizon.
As stated by the managing director of the Superfund Grigoris D. Dimitriadis“the urban transport system was redesigned on the occasion of the Athens Olympic Games. Twenty years later, a long period has passed and, of course, the pandemic that drastically changed the logic of mass movement in the city. In recent years, there has been a systematic effort and a new planning for the new era of transportation in direct collaboration with the supervising ministry, the Ministry of Transport Infrastructure. And in this area of action of the Superfund, we implement our strategy to strengthen our footprint on the economy, society and the environment: providing better transport, improved infrastructure in design and operation, more environmentally friendly, and all this with the lowest cost to the Greek taxpayer».
“In 2023, Athens Transport showed a significant increase in passenger traffic combined with a balanced budget”, said the managing director of OASA Group George Spiliopoulos. “The goal of OASA is to upgrade the services provided to the passenger public so that MMMs become the first choice of transportation in the wider area of Athens, thus contributing to the social and environmental development of the capital. That is why we are focusing on the renewal of our fleet of vehicles/trains and the utilization of new technologies, while for 2024 we have a goal of reducing our carbon footprint by 3%».
From his side the managing director of STASY Thanasis Kottarasreferred to the 2.5 million euro intervention program at the metro stations and the ongoing project to upgrade the 14 trains of Line 1, which will be delivered in parts in 2025. The project will contribute to the further reduction of time distances on Line 1.
“Athens is changing, the city’s traffic is growing year by year and we are called upon to manage the new data», emphasized Mr. Kottaras. At the same time, he presented the action plan to deal with ticket evasion on fixed-line vehicles, which resulted (by 2023) in the significant increase of checks (by 173%), confirmed violations (by 36%) and collections from fare sales (by 20.2%).
The managing director of OSY, Stefanos Agiasoglou, said that for the first time there is an integrated program of complete renewal and environmental upgrading of the fleet within three years. “The first test routes of the 140 new electric buses are already taking place, with the first data from the tests being completely satisfactory. In the current year and by the end of 2025, 951 brand new buses (140 electric buses, 300 CNG buses, 300 leased vehicles and 211 commissioned buses) will have been inducted.” At the same time, he made reference to the integrated “OSY Academy” training program. Employees are trained in a wide range of courses and receive certificates for completing the training modules.
Ensuring the accessibility of the transportation system is also an important priority equally by all citizens with an emphasis on the disabled. In this context, the study of improvement interventions for Line 1 “Kallithea” station has already been completed, which will be a pilot application for the rest of the Line’s stations. The accessibility improvement projects at Monastiraki station have been completed.
The STASY application was activated to inform the disabled about the elevatorswhile an application for online appointments for free travel with the minivans exclusively used by the disabled will be completed.
End, over 350 ledges were installed at bus stops and systematic cooperation with the local government is sought to create the necessary infrastructure that will allow people with disabilities to approach MMMs.
Finally, the installation of a 5th generation (5G) mobile telephony network is underway in the stations and tunnels of the metro lines. Mobile operators are currently running a pilot program on line 2, in the “Agios Dimitrios – Elliniko” section.
The installation of active equipment at the “Alimos” station has already been completed and it is expected that the optimal technical solution for the entire metro network will be finalized within the year.
Source: Skai
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