App to offer commuters real-time updates

Three years after the introduction of the capital’s first smart bus and trolley stops, with electronic screens informing commuters about arrival times, transport authorities have obtained the software that will provide passengers with the same information on their smartphones, Kathimerini understands.

OASA signed a contract with Intrasoft International last month to upgrade the system, which is expected to be operational within the next month.

Meanwhile, the Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA) faces widespread criticism about the accuracy of the information provided on electronic screens at bus and trolley stops.

Bus and trolley bus drivers claim that the schedules they are given frequently vary from those that are displayed on electronic screens. Moreover, the data included on the screens is not updated in the event of unforeseen developments such as mechanical problems or an absence of drivers, Kathimerini understands.

OASA officials claim that each vehicle issues a signal to the organization’s central traffic management center every 20 seconds.

Admitting to have received complaints from commuters, however, OASA said it was doing its best to upgrade the service.

Currently some 600,000 people use the OASA Telematics service.