Four in 10 Athenians get about the city every day by car, ignoring the city’s growing transport network, according to survey results presented yesterday.

The report, prepared by the Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA), said that 26 percent of Athenians would only accept using two different types of public transport if this slashed their transport time by more than half.

Despite the heavily congested city center and severe parking problems, many commuters prefer to drive into central Athens.

The average number of people in each car in the city center was 1.5, while in other European cities vehicles are not allowed to enter the central district carrying less than three passengers, including the driver.

Survey results indicate the government is likely to miss its goal of getting half of commuters using transport by 2008.

Around 43 percent of commuters use public transport, while just less than 10 percent walk to their destinations.

The survey added that 5 percent of respondents use “other’ means of getting about without clarifying what these might be.

Buses ranked among the most favored mode of public transport due to their extensive network across Athens with the metro system taking second place.

Journey times in cars out of the city center pick up, according to the survey, as vehicles reach an average speed of 22 kilometres an hour – the same speed buses travel at in their allocated traffic lanes.

The survey was held between September 2006 and January 2007 and questioned 150,000 commuters and households.