Public transport held back by revenue shortfall

The finances of the Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA) are deteriorating and preventing it from carrying out basic functions, such as buying spare parts, according to its outgoing CEO Grigoris Dimitriadis.

He said the 14-million-euro cut in annual state funding, the two weeks of free travel due to capital controls that led to an almost 10-million-euro loss in revenues, having to absorb the rise in VAT from 13 to 23 percent and the absence of ticket inspectors have had a harmful impact on OASA’s finances.

Dimitriadis said this shortfall means many buses are off the road as there is no money for parts and some vehicles have to be stripped so others can be kept in working order.