Steps mulled for reducing Athens traffic, pollution

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday chaired a meeting of government officials aimed at coming up with a blueprint to tackle the interconnected problems of traffic congestion and pollution in downtown Athens.

Kathimerini understands that one of the steps being considered is slashing the number of passes allowing certain motorists to circulate freely in the city center by as much as half.

Passes will apply for all eco-friendly cars that run on natural gas, electricity or a hybrid mix, which account for roughly a third of Attica’s estimated 2.3 million cars.

Radically restricting the hours that supply trucks are allowed to make deliveries is also on the cards, as is stricter enforcement of traffic rules.

The meeting came 10 days before the odd-even system allowing half the capital’s cars into the center every day based on their license plate number returns after being suspended since the pandemic began.