Athens Public Transport to Offer Wi-Fi Access to Commuters

Buses, tram and trolley cars will soon be able to provide free Wi-Fi access to commuters, the Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA) announced this week.

A Wi-Fi network offering access potential to 2,030 OASA vehicles serving the wider Athens region, including buses, trolley and tram cars, will be installed in the coming months and set to be operational .

The initiative, jointly run by the digital policy and transport ministries, is budgeted at 900,000 euros and will be funded by the 2014-2020 Regional Operational Program for Attica.

The aim is to promote the use of new technologies and to upgrade urban transport services. Indicatively, according to OASA data, passenger traffic on buses and trolleys in 2015 came to 352,116,000 commutes with the average ride at 20 minutes. Passenger figures on Athens tram cars rose to 14,482,000 commutes in the same year.

Greek governments have repeatedly announced free Internet access on public transport.  

In related news, commuters can now apply and receive via mail personalized smart cards after submitting details online at www.athenacard.gr.