Athens is the capital of Greece, the 9th largest metropolitan area in Europe and one of the largest economic hubs in Southern Europe. It is located on the Orient/East – Med TEN-T corridor and its port Piraeus is the largest passenger port in Europe.
The Athens Public Transport Organization (OASA) is the sole mass transit operator in the Attica
region, with exclusive control over its bus, tram, trolley and subway networks. OASA envisages a
future where urban transport will be centered around the passenger and will be carried out under
a sustainability objective, while still ensuring its financial viability and profitability outlook. HARMONY is an aid in this effort; Athens serves as one of the pilot cities in HARMONY, where
different types of novel mobility measures will be tested over its network.
HARMONY in Athens
In Athens, HARMONY will:
- organise co-creation labs to engage local stakeholders and citizens;
- Apply the Model Suite;
- Recommend updates for the spatial and transport planning strategy and develop business cases.
The first co-creation lab in Athens was initially planned to be held in Athens in March 2020. However, the coronavirus outbreak has been a major impediment in the planning and organization of the lab, that was finally held online. Some questionnaires were formulated on the basis of four scenarios:
- Electrification of public transport (battery electric buses (BEBs))
- Operation of autonomous bus fleets (autonomous vehicles (AVs))
- Operation of demand-responsive transit (DRT)
- Application of micro-mobility schemes.
The key findings of the first Athens co-creation lab may be summarized as follows:
- Most of the stakeholders face transportation challenges, especially related to intermodalityand ITS, that impact the quality of life, as well as various economic and business aspects.
- Lack of coordination and limited budget seem to hinder the resolution of these challenges.
- All examined scenarios appear to be well-accepted by the general public.
- The provision of financial incentives is argued to be important for the transition to the new
- mobility era.
- Different advantages and disadvantages may be identified when considering the applicationof each of the individual scenario (infrastructure costs, safety and security, regulatoryframework, social equity, impact on other modes of transport).
Stakeholder engagement is expected to continue with the organisation of the second co-creation lab in Athens in spring 2021.