ATHENS – Riders of buses in Athens can rejoice a little with the arrival of the first of 30 new buses to hit the streets and the eventual replacement of the fleet that was lauded by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis after visiting a major bus depot.

Another 181 are coming to serve 63 lines in the city and its neighborhoods, a mode of transportation essential for many, especially those of little means, which means they are frequently overcrowded.

Mitsotakis was informed by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Christos Staikouras and Deputy Minister Vassilis Oikonomou about the timetable for strengthening urban transport in Attica with a total of 950 new, modern, fully accessible buses by the summer of 2025.

“The government has launched a very large effort to renew and modernize the fleet of urban buses and suburban buses, the routes that cover the eastern Attica region as a whole,” he said, reported state broadcaster ERT.

“And when we talk about new buses, we’re talking about buses with modern anti-pollution technology, we’re talking about buses that are completely accessible to our fellow citizens with disabilities, we’re talking about air-conditioned buses, buses that are absolutely safe and that essentially upgrade the quality of the services provided,” he added.

He also said that, “This government has systematically invested in public transport, many different tenders are being launched in order to be able to reach this result. These are complex competitions that need their time to be implemented, but I believe that in the coming months our fellow citizens in Attica will begin to see a noticeable difference in the quality of the transport services provided.”

Road Transport SA – known by its Greek acronym OSY – will lease 300 buses to replace old ones, under a 201.6 million euro ($225.42 million) plus Value Added Tax (VAT) contract signed earlier with NBG Leasing.

Delivery of 30 percent of those buses will be made by the end of the year, with the rest expected in early 2025 and 100 of them are electric while the rest are diesel powered and there’s a buying option when the 10-year lease expires.