Everyday "Calvary": public transport in Greece

A serious shortage of personnel and logistics infrastructure is recorded in the public transport of Attica.

Waiting for a train for about 8 minutes, rolling stock without air conditioning and other inconveniences now seem to have become commonplace for citizens and metro employees.

Despite promises of a radical renewal of the bus and train fleet, and assurances of additional hiring of drivers and technicians, little progress has been made in the past three years. The situation has led to delays and difficulties for both staff and hundreds of thousands of passengers who are forced to use their own transport, that is, to refuse public services, writes dikaiologitika.gr.

The president of ΣΤΑΣΥ employees, Mr. Revitis Spyros, details the serious problems that exist today in the field of public urban transport:

It all starts with the lack of trains. We don’t have trains because we don’t have spare parts to repair them. This is a chronic problem that has been going on for the past 5 years. This is due to the fact that the companies are owned by the government, and the supply of spare parts must be carried out through international tenders.

New employees leave due to low pay. The second most important problem, according to Mr. Revitis, is staff reduction: “We have minus 800 people from the legally approved staffing of the company. We should be 3127, and we are 2300 or less. Numerous retirements are recorded, as well as permanent transfers and secondments. Last year, 80 foremen and 80 drivers were hired, who also start working and then quit because they have low salaries as recruits (750 euros on average, twelve salaries, no gifts or bonuses). In a few months, the government will announce the opening of new stations. How do you imagine we can work in such conditions?

Long delays on the routes, combined with crowds, as well as rising air temperatures with the advent of summer, make conditions even more difficult.

“On line 1, due to the lack of trains, we were forced to put rolling stock on the rails that were not equipped with air conditioning. This is a huge problem. People, with the increase in gasoline prices, increasingly began to use public transport. We asked that the prices of the ticket and the metro pass be reduced by half. But … “things are still there.” Typically, the frequency of routes should be less than four minutes, given the current need. But we see 7 and 8 minutes. Our system has the ability to put trains more often than before. But nothing is being done, ”concludes the president of the trade union of metro workers.

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