The 10+1 interventions made so far by the government in Public Transport and those to come, State Minister Akis Skertos refers to in a post. In detail, “modern and safe public transport is an indicator of the culture of everyday life and at the same time a measure of social cohesion and reduction of inequalities.

It is no coincidence that the countries and cities with the highest indicators of prosperity and ‘happiness’ of their citizens are those that have invested in sustainable mobility, i.e. in a wide network of pedestrian walkways, cycle paths and public transport that meet mobility needs with safety, reliability and speed, low costs, and a significantly lower environmental and traffic burden.

As a regular user of public transport before I took office in government, I know first-hand what it means to the commuter going to work when buses are unreasonably late at bus stops, the constant breakdowns of an old fleet, the lack of safety on the metro and the electric train, the absence of controls on the previously widespread fare evasion, the appalling picture of abandonment and vandalism in stations and trains. Unfortunately, the decade of crisis and recession has left a strong imprint of abandonment and disinvestment in public transport, which is tantamount to social disintegration and widening inequalities. Because modern and safe public transport not only reduces the distances between the centre and the periphery, it primarily reduces inequalities.”

But, the Minister of State continues, “in the 2023 government programme we decided that this must change. And we set ambitious and measurable targets to renew both the bus and train fleet and reduce journey times. So that our public transport gets farther, faster and more often. Three years on, we can proudly say “we said it and we are doing it.”

The presentation made on Wednesday by Konstantinos Kyranakis together with the strong team of the management of the Ypertifonds and OASA, OSI and STASY, proved that when there is a plan, will, perseverance, patience and passion, then small miracles can happen.

* 1,076 new buses are already on the road in the basin, having achieved a 2/3 renewal of the fleet.

* The aim is to have 2,000 buses in circulation by 2028, of which 1,700 will be new.

* Now all the buses in the basin are accessible to people with disabilities and thanks to the digital disability card, access to them has become much easier.

* No bus will be running from this summer without a modern air conditioning system.

* The exponential increase in fare evasion checks has led to a record 115 million ticket validations in the first quarter of 2026.

* Increase in drivers to 2,800 with a target of 4,000 by 2028.

* Create 15 “model routes” covering 40% of ridership with densification of buses and drivers resulting in a reduction in waiting time of up to 9 minutes or up to 50%.

* Renovation and modernization of 14 trains of the electric railway for the first time along with the procurement of 10 new trains and an increase in the number of trains of the Athens metro from 40 to 52 today and 61 in 2027 with a tender for the procurement of an additional 19 by 2028 and 2029.

* 24-hour metro and bus service every Saturday night to ensure the safe movement of young people going out to have fun.

* State-of-the-art artificial intelligence tools to optimize routes.

* Creation of new digital passenger satisfaction survey tools with the possibility of complaints on report.oasa.gr

* And all this, with one of the cheapest tickets in Europe”

In conclusion, “we don’t claim “bravo”. All this is but the minimum we owe to the residents of the capital city in order to achieve a more humane city and a better everyday life,”