The Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organisation ( el, Οργανισμός Αστικών Συγκοινωνιών Θεσσαλονίκης), abbreviated OASTH ( el, ΟΑΣΘ), is a

mass transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

operating in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It was founded in 1957 and now covers a large area of the

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

area of

, the country's second-largest city. OASTH only includes bus transportation due to lack of other means of transport.

History

Before the creation of OASTH in 1957, public transport in

was initially covered by an extensive

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

network opened in the late 19th century. Later a Belgian bus company started operating with horse-pulled carriages seating 4 to 5 people. OASTH was founded by Presidential Decree 3721 and aimed at replacing the city's tram network as sole provider of public transport. The initial fleet included 283 buses of 60 to 80 seats. In 1978, OASTH acquired the first

articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a banana bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, wiggle wagon, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, (either a motor bus or trolleybus) is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is usua ...

es in

. In 1979 OASTH expands, taking over several routes previously operated by KTEL in the suburbs of

and also takes over the sea services operating by small boats during summer months and are replaced by new OASTH bus routes. In 2003 OASTH expanded again and 12 new lines were created for the suburbs of

. In 2009 64 new buses were added to the fleet, numbering 604 buses in total. The agreement with the Greek state regarding the right to monopolise public transport in

is valid until two years after the completion of the

Thessaloniki Metro The Thessaloniki Metro ( el, Μετρό Θεσσαλονίκης, ', ) is an underground rapid-transit system under construction in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Estimates for the cost of the megaproject are €1.62 billion ...

and its expansions. The Greek government in 2017, through the passing of a law, proceeded to nationalize the company in 2017, citing as a cause the poor service of the citizens, the corruption and the complaints for embezzlement of public money by the private shareholders.

Lines in operation

Being the sole provider of public transport within the city of

, OASTH operates an extensive network that covers the entire city. Overall 75 routes are currently in service. Several bus stops all over Thessaloniki are equipped with electronic timetables notifying passengers about the arrival of the next bus of every line.

Vehicles

The current fleet of OASTh consists of the following bus types: * Sarakakis Alexandros ( Volvo B10MA) (1998-) * ELVO C93.113CLL (

Scania L113 The Scania L113 was a step entrance and low entry single-decker bus chassis manufactured by Scania in Sweden between 1989 and 1998. It is a low entry compartment to the low floor N113. Design The L113 was largely a cross between the N113 a ...

CLL) (1998-) *

Irisbus Europolis The Irisbus Europolis is an integrally-constructed low-floor midibus model with 49 passengers produced by Irisbus (now known as Iveco Bus.) Cities whose transport companies use the Irisbus Europolis include Rome, Reggio Calabria, Cagliari and ...

(2003-) *

Irisbus IVECO Bus (formerly Irisbus) is a bus manufacturer with headquarters in Turin. IVECO Bus is now only a brand division of IVECO which is a company incorporated under Dutch law and listed on Borsa Italiana. History IVECO (1975 - 1999) In 1975 ...

CityClass (2004-) * Mercedes-Benz CitaroG (2006-) * ELVO C05.B7L-11M ( Volvo B7L) * ELVO C04.B7LA ( Volvo B7LA) * Sarakakis Makedonia ( Volvo B7RLE) * ELVO C03.B7L ( Volvo B7L) (2006-) * ELVO C06.B9LA ( Volvo B9LA) (2007-) * Mercedes-Benz Citaro (2009-) * ELVO C08.B9L ( Volvo B9L) (2010-) * ELVO C08.B9LA ( Volvo B9LA) (2010-) * Irisbus Citelis 12 (2010-) *

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light commercial vehicle ( van) built by Mercedes-Benz Group AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a large van, chassis cab, minibus, and pickup truck. In the past, the Sprinter had been sold under the Mercedes-Benz, Dodge, ...

City 35 (2010-)

External links

Oasth - Official Site

References

{{Urban transport in Greece Bus companies of Greece Transport in Thessaloniki Organizations established in 1957

History

Lines in operation

Vehicles

See also

External links

References