Stefanos Nikolaidis

The first big step toward one Athens moving and at night it became the Saturday July 5thwith the pilot application her 24 -hour operation of Public transport. The Deputy Minister of Transport, Konstantinos Kyranakisspeaks to skai.gr for him account of venturethe first statistically and target or night traffic become a permanent measure from September.

“For the first time in 20 years, the entire MMM system stayed open all night“, Mr. Kyranakis stressed, describing a Saturday where tens of thousands of young people they used the measurethe buses and tramin hours until yesterday ‘The choices were limited and not always sufficient“

As he noted, the bet were double: to test in practice or operational readiness and to offer citizens a secure alternative movement After midnight. “Tens of thousands of young people returned home safely and a city has shown that it wants and can proceed to something better“, He said.

The first numbers: subway, buses, tram in numbers

Pilot mode was accompanied by a significant increase of route:

  • 26 additional routes to measure between 02:00 and 05:30serving 30,000 passengers
  • 490 total bus routesof which 200 were additiveswith 70 vehicles in circulation
  • 30 additional tram routes (16 to T6 line and 14 to T7), mainly in coastal zone

The Deputy Minister clarified that ‘The right thing is to say that the movement was shared because the overall metro operation is about exactly what the adjective says: all night“

“Hundreds of workers – in subway, tram, buses – stood in place. One Saturday night, while the city was having fun, they did their job. With care, with professionalism, with the quiet dedication that every real change needs“, As he underlined.

Errors, corrections and September

Mr. Kyranakis was realist. “Was everything perfect? No. But so we learn: doing“, He admitted. Promised that in the following weeks’We will work on the mistakes, we will fix what did not work and improve what has succeeded“

Target of the ministry is the establishment her 24 -hour operation of measure and of their buses every Saturdaystarting by September. As he himself says:
“If we do it right, this will not just be a pilot measure. Since September, it can become the new rule: an Athens moving safely, every Saturday, all night“