Bicycles ‘pose security risk’ for Athens trains
A ban on the transport of bicycles on Athens metro and electric railway trains is to stay in place for security reasons and to frustrate cycle-borne hooligans, the government said in a statement made public yesterday. Responding to a question in Parliament by Synaspismos Left Coalition MP Alekos Alavanos, Transport Minister Michalis Liapis said it was «impossible, mainly for the safety of passengers» to allow bikes on the metro and electric railway carriages. He did not elaborate. Furthermore, Liapis said train-hopping cyclists are mainly young «show-offs» who often «ride dangerously on station platforms and ramps.» Bikes were never allowed on the metro. But cyclists could put their machines on the electric railway until just before the August Olympics, when the ban was implemented. There is not a single bicycle lane in Athens.
