Bus Lines

In an effort to reduce traffic gridlock in the capital, technical measures to help manage traffic more effectively have been adopted and appropriate steps have been taken with a view to upgrading public transport services and therefore improving the citizens’ quality of life. One such measure is the priority given to public transport vehicles along road traffic routes by determining the location of Dedicated Bus Lanes (DBLs) reserved exclusively for public transport vehicles. In recent years and in the light of the experience gained at international level and the positive impact to this date from the operation of DBLs, the Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA), in cooperation with the Hellenic Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks, has developed a coherent bus lane network of about 50 km. Some of the major benefits from the DBLs operation can be summed up as follows:

• Raising the speed of transport vehicles to 23 km/h
• Improving overall public transport performance, thus making it more appealing to passengers
• Increasing public transport and reducing private car use
• Making buses more fuel-efficient
• Improving the capital’s public transport environmental footprint

The following vehicles are allowed to move and stop, but are prohibited from parking in the with-flow DBLs: a. public transport vehicles (buses and trolleybuses), b. b. privatized mass transit vehicles (coaches, school buses, etc.), c. motorcycles and bicycles, d. emergency vehicles (ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, etc.). It is illegal for any other vehicle (private passenger cars, taxis, vans or pick-up trucks) to move or stop in a bus lane. The use of contra-flow bus lanes is prohibited to motorcycles (with the exception of Kypseli Street). General traffic is also permitted to parts of a bus lane to make a right turn into or out of a street, enter or leave a property adjacent to the bus lane etc. and where there is appropriate horizontal (dashed yellow line) and vertical road marking.

With-flow DBLs are in operation from 06:00 to 21:00 Mondays to Fridays and from 06:00 to 16:00 on Saturdays. Contra-flow DBLs are operational 24 hours a day.

Policing of bus lanes is carried out by the Traffic Police Division of Attica. Driving in a bus lane incurs a €200 fine. In addition to this fine, violators have their number plates removed and their vehicles towed away in case of parking in DBLs. Traffic fine revenue is collected by the local authorities and not by the Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA).