The Athens Mass Transit System is the largest mass transit system of Greece. The system is run by the OASA S.A. organisation and serves
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
Urban Area and the Athens Metropolitan Area (most of the Region of Attica without the island section).
Companies
As of July 2011, the Athens Mass Transit System consists of:
* OSY S.A. ( el, Οδικές Συγκοινωνίες Α.Ε. (abbr. ΟΣΥ), lit=Road Transit S.A.)
** Βus network (internal combustion engine buses and trolleybuses).
*
STASY S.A. ( el, Σταθερές Συγκοινωνίες Α.Ε. (abbr. ΣΤΑΣΥ), lit=Fixed Transit S.A.)
** The
Athens Tram
The Athens Tram is the modern public tram network system serving Athens, Greece. The system is owned and operated by STASY, which replaced Tram S.A. in June 2011.
STASY operates a fleet of 25 Alstom Citadis and 35 Sirio vehicles, which serve ...
system
** The
Athens Metro with 3 lines.
*
Hellenic Train S.A.
** The
Athens Suburban Railway
The Athens Suburban Railway, ( el, Προαστιακός Αθήνας, Proastiakós Athínas) is a commuter rail service that connects the city of Athens with its metropolitan area and other regions beyond Attica, including Corinthia, Boeotia, ...
, using
Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) lines, operated by
Hellenic Train S.A. under the ''
Proastiakos
The Proastiakos ( el, Προαστιακός; "suburban") is Greece's Commuter rail service, run by Hellenic Train, on rail infrastructure owned by the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) (lines) and GAIAOSE (buildings and Trains). These ser ...
'' brand. The section between Piraeus, Magoula and Koropi is regarded as the urban part.
In March 2011, with the Greek Government Law 3920 Attiko Metro Operational Company (AMEL S.A.) absorbed
Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways S.A. and TRAM S.A. and was renamed "STASY S.A." ( el, ΣΤΑΣΥ Α.Ε.). Also ETHEL S.A. absorbed
ILPAP
I.L.P.A.P. ( el, Ηλεκτροκίνητα Λεωφορεία Περιοχής Αθηνών – Πειραιώς Η.Λ.Π.Α.Π. - Electric Buses of Athens & Piraeus Area) was a public Greek company, part of the general Mass Transit System, respo ...
S.A. and was renamed as "OSY S.A." ( el, ΟΣΥ Α.Ε.). The mergers were officially announced on June 10, 2011. While mergers at the top management level took place quickly, integration of the former companies at operations and support level proceeds slowly.
OSY and STASY are wholly owned by OASA. Hellenic Train (for the urban part of the
Athens Suburban Railway
The Athens Suburban Railway, ( el, Προαστιακός Αθήνας, Proastiakós Athínas) is a commuter rail service that connects the city of Athens with its metropolitan area and other regions beyond Attica, including Corinthia, Boeotia, ...
) is coordinated by Athens Urban Transport Organisation (Organismos Astikon Syngoinonion Athinon - OASA, el, Οργανισμός Αστικών Συγκοινωνιών Αθηνών - Ο.Α.Σ.Α.), a state-owned company.
ISAP, ETHEL and ILPAP were wholly owned by OASA. AMEL and Tram S.A. until June 2011 were subsidiaries of Attiko Metro S.A. ( el, Αττικό Μετρό Α.Ε.), a company that is currently wholly owned by the Greek government.
Hellenic Train S.A., which absorbed the former Proastiakos S.A. in 2007, became independent of the OSE group in 2008 and is now a separate private company.
OASA regularly conducts
street photography
Street photography (also sometimes called candid photography) is photography conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places. Although there is a difference between street and ca ...
and videography competitions both in black-and-white and in colour for photos taken while inside its means of transport.
Fare collection system
Up until the 80s, fare collectors were commonplace in all means of mass transport in Athens. Their replacement was a money box placed at the front end of the vehicles, next to the driver, where passengers would deposit their fare in cash, usually coinage. A decade later, they were replaced with validation machines and paper tickets. The end of the single-use paper ticket came in 2017, when it was succeded by the ATH.ENA electronic
stored-value cards and tickets (stylized as ATH.ENA CARD and ATH.ENA TICKET respectively). Tickets are now rechargeable and can be loaded with up to 5-day unlimited ticket, but not with long term fare products, discount tickets (support discontinued in January 2019)
or monetary value. Cards (personalised and anonymised) can hold all fare types and a maximum of 50€, with the exception of discount tickets which are tied to personalised cards.
Tickets and cards are validated
contaclessly in validation machines inside buses, trolleybuses and trams. Suburban railway trains and the
Athens Metro utilize
turnstile
A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a ...
s.
The ATH.ENA ticket and ATH.ENA card can be used in suburban railway trains starting from Magoula or Dhekelia and onwards.
Depots
Metro
Eirini depot (Line 1)
Sepolia depot (Lines 2 & 3)
Eleonas depot (Lines 2 & 3)
Tram
Elliniko depot
Trolleybus
Attiki depot
Kokkinos Mylos depot
Rouf depot
Bus
Agios Dimitrios depot
Ano Liosia depot
Anthousa depot
Elliniko depot (closed in 2014)
Petrou Ralli depot
Rentis depot
Thriaseio depot (used only for laying up retired buses)
Votanikos depot
Gallery
File:20140622-Anthoupoli-62D304 (7872).jpg, Athens Metro train (3rd generation stock)
File:Tram TA20049 at Syntagma Square.jpg, Athens Tram
The Athens Tram is the modern public tram network system serving Athens, Greece. The system is owned and operated by STASY, which replaced Tram S.A. in June 2011.
STASY operates a fleet of 25 Alstom Citadis and 35 Sirio vehicles, which serve ...
Citadis 305 vehicle (2nd generation)
File:OSE Baureihe 660.jpg, Athens Suburban Railway
The Athens Suburban Railway, ( el, Προαστιακός Αθήνας, Proastiakós Athínas) is a commuter rail service that connects the city of Athens with its metropolitan area and other regions beyond Attica, including Corinthia, Boeotia, ...
train
File:Bus on Amalias Street in Athens on December 21, 2020.jpg, Mercedes - Benz O405 bus
File:Bus at Athens Airport (line X95).jpg, Express bus between the city and the airport
File:Athens Van Hool trolleybus on Patission Street in 2012.jpg, Athens trolley bus in downtown Athens
See also
*
Athens Railway Station
Athens railway station ( el, Σιδηροδρομικός Σταθμός Αθηνών, Sidirodromikos Stathmos Athinon) is the main railway station of Athens, and the second largest station in Greece. Located in the central quarter of Kolonos ...
*
List of bus routes in Athens
This is a list of all the bus routes in Athens, Greece.
Symbolism
2005-Today Trunk Routes
The trunk routes were created in 1995 as part of an attempt to create a bus rapid transit system in Athens. They actually were renamings of existing rout ...
References
External links
OASA companies established in 2011
O.A.S.A. - Athens Urban Transport OrganisationSTASY S.A.OSY S.A.
Non-OASA companies
TrainOSE suburban services O.S.E. - Hellenic Railways Organisation S.A. Hellenic Ministry of Transportation and Communications
{{Public transport in Athens
*
Intermodal transport authorities
Rail transport in Attica