“Today is indeed a good day for her Thessaloniki“, pointed out the prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaking from his garage OASTH in Stavroupoli, where the 110 new ones are located electric buses of the organization, some of which are circulating in the streets of the city from today.

Shortly before his installation at the event organized at the OASTH depot in Stavroupoli, the Prime Minister inspected the organization’s new electric fleet, in the presence of the leadership of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the organization’s management and employees, as well as the Chinese ambassador. representatives of the manufacturing company Yutong, as well as parliamentarians and members of the city’s local government.

Mr. Mitsotakis expressed his satisfaction with the fact that all the schedules were met both for the supply, as well as for the receipt and delivery into circulation of the new electric buses, noting that a large part of the vehicles, i.e. 40, was a political choice % of the 250 total that arrived in our country by sea, to come to Thessaloniki and replace 30% of the existing fleet.

In his speech, the Greek Prime Minister pointed out that “the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport was right when he said that the completion of such complex tender procedures requires a lot of effort and a lot of perseverance” and emphasized that “indeed, the administration of the ministry – as you well know – has been in the Thessaloniki, so that we can be absolutely sure that the schedules will be respected, the difficulties will be overcome and we will be happy today not only to present, but to announce the launch of the first buses, always starting from the west of Thessaloniki and from lines 21 and 29 covering Evosmos and Polichni and their connection with Aristotelous Square”.

He pointed out that the supply of electric buses is actually a “mirror of the adventures that the country went through in the last 15 years”, as he explained, “really 15 years ago, think about it, the last, then, new city buses were delivered. Since then, a lot has passed, the country entered into memorandums, faced many adventures, almost reached the brink of bankruptcy.”

Today, however, as he characteristically added, “this very day marks the arrival of a new Greece, which has left behind these times and can look to the future with greater optimism”.

Re-emphasizing the Greek government’s emphasis on urban transportation, sustainable urban transportation, and Mass Transportation, Mr. Mitsotakis noted that Thessaloniki was lagging behind in terms of modern Mass Transportation infrastructure.

In this context, he indicated that “only 15% of the journeys in the city of Thessaloniki are made by means of public transport” and added that “we want to make this 15% 50%, with the opening of the metro, with the expansion of the lines and of course with more better, better quality, more modern buses”.

“The electric buses already in circulation in Thessaloniki are state-of-the-art”

Speaking about the electric buses that are already in circulation on the streets of Thessaloniki, Mr. Mitsotakis noted that they are state-of-the-art and specifically said:

“When we say ‘let’s hit the accelerator’, we won’t hear anything, the bus will just move forward and that’s what the progress of technology dictates. They are quiet buses, with air conditioning, they even have charging ports for mobile phones.”

In addition, as he added, the electric buses have something else very important, because the government has prioritized the issues of accessibility for people with disabilities: they all have an easy-to-use ramp, so that a wheelchair can enter the bus. “Because for us there are no two categories of citizens and we want to be absolutely sure that all citizens can have equal access to Mass Transportation,” Mr. Mitsotakis emphasized.

Of course, he hastened to emphasize that “this is only the beginning, since many more buses with anti-pollution technology will follow, which will gradually replace the entire older fleet in both Athens and Thessaloniki”.

Especially for the city of Thessaloniki, the prime minister emphasized that “here in the city we made a political choice: of the 250 buses, the first electric buses that we receive, 110, that is 40%, came to Thessaloniki, 140 went to Athens . But, as a percentage of the old fleet being replaced, we’re actually talking about 30% of the fleet here. By the end of June, all these buses will be running.”

Among other things, he said that electrification also requires the creation of new infrastructure, new charging stations, and in this context he pointed out that “a state-of-the-art charging station will be ready in the coming weeks, so that this transition to electrification can take place as much as possible with less problems”.

In fact, speaking of electrification, Mr. Mitsotakis referred to the generously subsidized programs that the government “runs” to replace conventional cars, emphasizing mainly those that drive the most kilometers. In this context, he called on the taxi drivers of Thessaloniki to think very seriously about replacing their vehicles, saying “there are many interesting solutions, now, for replacing vehicles with a significant subsidy from the state. Electric mobility is the future, especially for those who drive many kilometers in the city center.”

Reiterating that the supply of electric buses in Athens and Thessaloniki exceeded 120 million euros, Mr. Mitsotakis noted that “this could not have been done without the generous funding from the Recovery and Resilience Fund. This sticker that you see, “Greece 2.0″, symbolizes in the best way that the money, the resources of the Recovery Fund are finally directed to the society itself. And when we talk, of course, about Mass Transportation, to those who have the greatest and most needs.”

The Recovery and Resilience Fund became a reality in July 2020 and “we managed to bring to our country a total of 36 billion euros of additional resources, a small part of which is also directed to the electric buses that you see”.