Most gates have been closed, revenues increased, but many problems remain, causing discomfort to the traveling public. This is in a few words the report of the first period of application of the electronic ticket in public transport in Greece.

The public transport framework is, albeit partially, modernized; however, anyone who frequently uses the transport network is faced with dysfunctions that could have been avoided, with better initial design or in retrospect corrections.

 

Cards and revenue rise

The positive side of the "electronic" era is mainly reflected in the OASA revenue sector, which is rising. Unquestionably, despite the initial protests from passengers, a significant boost has also been given by the entrance from the front door to buses and trolleys since last summer. A step in the right direction, and in line with OASA's general philosophy, is also the large increase in the use of cards against tickets by the traveling public.

 

“Disobedient” machines

Positive effects, unfortunately, stop here. And the most important problem is the booking machine, which often causes unnecessarily long queues and frustration among passengers.

Paper money that is not accepted after 4 and 5 attempts, very slow ticket printing, bank cards that are not "read", delays in recharging. If in all of this the fact that part of the traveling public (especially the elderly) has not been able to get acquainted with their use is taken into account, it is clear that the problem is growing.

 

Empty ticket offices

The general philosophy of OASA is to shift to as little physical engagement as possible to ticketing, prompting passengers to use auto vendors or the internet for that purpose. However, incidents such as the abovementioned show that more open ticket offices, especially in high-traffic stations, could normalize the situation by serving people who (mainly due to old age or inadequate training) are hardly familiar with the electronic system but also replacing the ... "fragile" electronic machines..

 

Open gates, incomplete controls

Another important problem is detected in the entry-exit gates. The original design was at all stations that the bars were closed within the first months of applying the e-ticket (initial target was December 2017). While there were long delays in many of the stations, five of them (Kato Patisia, Piraeus, Monastiraki, Victoria and one part of Omonia) still remain open. The problem is attributed to failing to complete the licensing process. However, this is an important "derailment" from the original timetable, costing the state.

In practice though, even in stations with closed bars, passing a gate without a ticket is not very difficult: the time a gate is left open is enough for a "stowaway" to pass it ... stuck to its front. This is a day-to-day phenomenon, which, in the absence of auditors at the authentication points, is very difficult to combat. Whether it is a problem of understaffing or a problem of inefficient use of existing staff, the result is the same: checks are not sufficient.

 

Source: Huffington Post