Tram to ride Green Wave
Tram passengers could see their journey time cut by about 20 percent as of the end of the month due to a new scheme to coordinate traffic lights so that they help this particular mode of public transport speed through Athens. The so-called Green Wave initiative is to be unveiled today but will come into effect on October 30. It will see many of the 82 traffic lights along the 27-kilometer route that the three tram lines cover reprogrammed so that they are always green when the tram passes. It is estimated that this adjustment, which was also in place during the Athens 2004 Olympics, will cut the journey time from Syntagma Square to the Peace and Friendship Stadium by 10 minutes to 40 minutes, from Syntagma to Voula by 15 minutes to 50 minutes and from the Peace and Friendship Stadium to Voula by 10 minutes to 35 minutes. It is thought that the tram’s slow pace is one of the main reasons that it has not proved a popular mode of transport.
