Revenues increasing on Athens transport system
Despite the slump in commuter traffic during the high summer period, the Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA) saw revenues rise 12.1 percent in July and 10.7 percent in August compared to the same two months last year.
The improvement is attributed to the success of the recently introduced electronic ticketing system on Athens public transport, where the number of personalized electronic travel cards has shot up to more than 850,000 and regular electronic travel cards to 400,000 since the system came into force last spring.
In a related development, lower-priced tickets for children, students and pensioners will be abolished as of Monday, meaning such commuters will have to apply for a personalized travel card.
OASA said that it has already issued 218,000 such cards, as well as an additional 35,000 for people with mobility problems, who are also entitled to a 50 percent discount.
