Fare dodgers’ fines to rise
Fines for commuters who travel on public transport without a ticket will soon be doubled in order to limit recent losses in revenue, Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA) chief Simos Simopoulos said yesterday. Currently, fare dodgers face a fine of 40 times the price of a ticket on most forms of public transport. The new fines could be up to 100 times the ticket price, Simopoulos said. OASA’s president ruled out any increases in ticket prices (45 cents) until the end of this year and stressed that public transport would not fall into the jaws of the private sector. Simopoulos also unveiled a series of imminent changes to the Attica transport network, including the mobilization of 120 new buses running on natural gas by next week alongside the withdrawal of 200 old buses from the roads as part of its modernization campaign. A tourist bus, taking in the capital’s main sights on a route from Kerameikos to Ambelokipi, is to start operating from August 1, the OASA chief added.
