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Athens residents are not giving up their cars despite the crisis

17 December 2014 / 18:12:32  GRReporter
1861 reads

Cars continue to top the rankings of the preferred means of transport in Athens, despite the efforts to turn people towards mass transportation means. In addition, one in five households has two cars.

This is part of the survey on urban mobility in Athens conducted by Public Issue agency on behalf of the organization for environmental protection WWF Hellas. In cooperation with the company managing the public transport means, the organization has initiated a campaign entitled "Always using the public transport, for a better life in the city" that aims at reducing car use.

2013 data show that 5.2 million vehicles circulated in Greece. At the same time, the residents of central Athens used more frequently trolley buses and the over-ground train compared to the residents of other neighbourhoods. The residents of the northern suburbs mainly travelled by car and very rarely took a bus or walked from one place to another.

The most interesting results of the survey are as follows:

- Buses competed with cars for the first place in the ranking of the most popular means of transport in Athens. 33% of residents used buses whereas 34% preferred their own cars.

- The underground was the second most widely used means of public transport that was the preference of 31% of the residents of Athens.    

- The over-ground electric train, trolley buses and trams were used by 21% of residents, the relevant percentages for each means being 10, 9 and 2.

- Athens residents state they do not use public transport because:

They do not have to, as the place where they go is close - 38%

The routes are not convenient - 34%.

- 56% of households in Athens have one car and 22% two.

The differences in the preferences of residents of different neighbourhoods are interesting as well. For example, 56% of the residents of the northern suburbs most commonly used cars whereas only 21% of the residents of the Municipality of Athens preferred them. The biggest fans of buses were the residents of the western suburbs and Piraeus.

According to director of "Passenger Transport" in Athens Yiannis Economou, the daily number of passengers who travel by the 280 bus and trolley lines is 1.4 million, and the annual 94 million.

According to the survey, 8% of citizens used a bike and 27% preferred to walk.

Tags: SocietyPublic transportCarsAthensSuburbs
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