OASA to introduce smart cards on transport next year
Commuters using the public transport network in Athens are to see their paper tickets replaced by smart cards next year.
The Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA) has approved the first phase of the process to install the new system on the metro, as well as on buses, trolley buses and trams.
Commuters will be able to load credit onto their smart cards ahead of their journeys. New ticket machines will be installed at stations, where passengers will have to swipe their cards when they leave as well as on entry, and on board buses, trolley buses and trams.
OASA’s board agreed on Friday to proceed with the installation of the new ticketing system, which will include barriers being erected at stations, via a 12-year public-private scheme.
After the 12-year-period, OASA will be solely responsible for the system, which is slated to cost almost 59 million euros to install. Of this, 49 percent will be provided by European Union structural funds and the remaining 51 percent will be put up by the LG-Terna consortium that won the tender for the project.
