Tell us a few words about yourself, your experience in the field and your role.
I have been a Transportation Engineer from beginning to end. Upon graduating from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), I had already chosen the path of transportation engineering, and since then I have been involved in all aspects of transport and transport systems both within and outside the city, and I have a comprehensive overview of both practice and theory.
At NTUA we teach both theory and practice. After all, the University is based in Athens, a city that is the perfect field of application and research for our work for many years. We work hard and many of the things we propose are implemented, quite a few are not, which disappoints us, but we persist. We are, however, pleased because we continuously bring new knowledge from abroad, from our research and studies, and one by one they are being implemented. We hope that, through our discussion today, we will be heard somewhere, whether by the Authorities, drivers, or commuters, so that we can change habits and improve mobility in the city. It is an important goal, with all these years of work, to keep improving things.
Why is traffic getting increasingly worse?
What happens in Athens is not very different from what happens in other cities around the world, particularly those we compare ourselves to in Europe. There are too many of us during rush hour, and if we all want to drive our private cars, they simply do not fit on the roads. This applies to any city in Europe. If you want to drive from the suburbs to the city centre, it will take a very long time. There is no city where you can drive quickly anywhere. And in fact, the most advanced cities like Paris, London, Brussels have put in place systems that discourage the use of private cars, resulting in morning commutes by car taking twice as long as those of Athenians to get into the city center. What they do is narrow the roads: where cars used to park or where there were two lanes, they allocate one lane to bicycles and turn the other into a pavement, reducing road capacity both in the center and on the entry routes, so far fewer cars can fit.
So, the fact that there is congestion in Athens is not a unique global phenomenon; it is the norm. And in the coming years, if we do nothing, congestion will keep getting worse, mainly because in the city we have more needs, we travel more and more, and there are more of us. What makes the difference in Athens compared to many other cities is that we do not provide very good alternatives. The cities I mentioned tell the citizens: “I am not giving you space to drive your car, but I am giving you a better metro, better buses, better pavements, better cycle paths, so you can travel by other means better and faster.” We do not have this in Athens, or at least we have it only partially.
After the crisis and the pandemic, society has begun to understand this, and it is reflected in politicians, whether the Municipality, the Region, or the Government, that we need to provide alternatives. They have purchased many new buses, in fact electric ones, and have started hiring bus drivers. And most importantly, they have understood that the bus is a priority and bus lanes are now being enforced.
If you have noticed, over the past year, in 2025, bus lanes were far more effective compared to previous years, because the Traffic Police realized that nothing comes of standing at traffic lights telling vehicles to “pass”, it is far more important to enforce the bus lanes. When the bus has priority in its lane, it will go faster and become more attractive, because there is a fundamental criterion for choosing a mode of transport worldwide. The theory and practice of transportation engineering states that the public will choose the mode of transport that gets them there fastest. If we give speed to the buses, that is, let them run in their lanes without being blocked by other parked or moving vehicles, they can double their journey speed. This means the same buses will make twice as many trips and serve twice as many passengers.
So, steps are being taken to move towards the right alternative. Because the overall philosophy is that in a city, it is pointless to try serving private cars; instead, we prefer to serve the commuters and life itself. Buses for long distances, bicycles for short distances and walking for very short distances. A civilized city prioritizes public transportation. Whether by adding more buses or by adding more trains to the metro. In Athens, we have 3 metro lines; the 4th is currently under construction, and we need to build 4 more lines. Athens needs at least 200 metro stations across 8 lines. The more lines there are, the greater the service becomes, because more people can travel to more places.
As far as buses are concerned, the telematics system works relatively well. The problem is the frequency of service. And when it comes to frequency, it’s not necessarily the buses that are to blame, but the private cars in front of them. We do indeed need buses, but if a bus goes faster, it will make more trips. So, the same bus can make one and a half to two times more trips than it does today, if we give it space it needs. Everyone complains about the buses, but there’s a large group of people who have never even been in a bus. Anyone who actually takes the bus, knows the schedules, which are neither terrible nor the best. In the city center, they run frequently, and on Panepistimiou and Alexandras Avenue, the bus lane works because there are so many buses that, whether or not there’s a traffic police officer present, cars don’t violate it.
The fundamental principle is what everyone says: “It can’t be done through the police; it requires education.” All over the world, education is guided by the Authorities. The Authorities constantly try to convey the message that what someone is doing is antisocial and bothers many people, which is why it issues citations to offenders. So, the Authorities change education by setting a good example, punishing those who are antisocial and dangerous. Unfortunately, our society revolves around private cars. When we listen to the media around us, everyone is talking about cars and asking, “What’s happening on Kifissos Avenue?” while no one is concerned about the 50 bus passengers trapped behind a car. The ones who are truly suffering are the bus passengers. In Athens, because their voices aren’t heard, the entire system revolves around our cars.
On this issue, all of us commuters have a responsibility to speak up. Speaking up improves things, but we need to speak up in the right direction and say, “Give me space to use public transportation.” And at the end of the day, it’s a matter of democracy: the many come first, and then the few. No one says no to private cars; in fact, they say, “But I’m elderly,” or “But I have to take my grandfather.” If we give all healthy people an alternative to take public transportation, those who have a grandparent or face some difficulty will be able to get around more easily. If we all claim we can’t, then we’ll all be stuck in traffic.
Can the problem be solved with more road infrastructure?
Let me give a characteristic example: in Los Angeles they had 3+3 lanes with congestion, they made them 6+6, still congestion, then 12+12 and there is still congestion. In Paris, in 1986 they completed the ring road, a motorway with 4 lanes per direction, 71 kilometers and from 1987 to this day it is congested. Even at night, when there are fewer cars, because such a huge volume of traffic passes during the day, maintenance work is carried out, so you cannot go fast then either. Building new road infrastructure is a temporary relief.
We are not saying “no” to all roads, because for a city to function it needs road axes with circular routes around the city, peripheral, not towards the city center. When you drive around the city, central areas are relieved. So, we need to maintain flow on Kifissos and Attiki Odos. Some works are being done at the Metamorfosi junction, the Kymi Avenue extension needs to be built. Transportation engineers have been saying for 60 years that Athens needs a ring road. Attiki Odos was built, but it is incomplete, as it ends at Katechaki and needs to continue to the coast. We also need the Southern Hymettus Peripheral, and we need to stop all of Greece passing through Kifissos. When someone comes from Thessaloniki and wants to go to Patras, the Thebes-Elefsina axis should be built so the capital’s basin is left undisturbed.
Some fundamental transport planning principles are being violated. We need axes around the city center, not towards it. The key is to build the Western Aigaleo Peripheral, the Southern Hymettus Peripheral and the Elefsina-Thebes axis. These axes will fill up one day, but they will serve a great many people and the system will be better balanced. So, we do need road works too, with metro works as the priority, but we also need road projects. What transport engineers say, like any science, is that you need the right mix. For a city to function, it needs works: first and foremost underground metro that runs fast and efficiently, buses and space for buses, and, on a case-by-case basis, improvements and additions to the road network.
How important is the enforcement of traffic violations?
What we say fundamentally is confirmed: more important than building the infrastructure is how you operate and manage it. It is not just about building roads, it is about how you run them. So policing bus lanes, policing illegal parking, policing ramp violations, these are utterly antisocial behaviors. Managing the system, especially in a system where all European cities no longer have infinite space, relies on better management of existing space. That requires science and composure.
The solution that the cities mentioned have found, Western Europe leads, but Eastern Europe has in some cases surpassed us, is that they have made the fundamental choice that balances traffic: they prohibit not only illegal parking, but also legal parking. They reduce the number of parking spaces in the city center. When you have nowhere to park, you do not drive there. So, the entire network calms down, because you will inevitably take public transport since you are not given a parking space on the street. Far fewer people will enter the city center and traffic will ease because they will turn to alternative modes of transport. Since they do not want to do it by choice, the Authorities steps in and educates them. Of course, this is where composure is needed. The Authorities must be able to withstand all the complaints from car owners. This is where politicians who will make decisions for the future stand out. If they keep doing nothing every time someone complains, they remain in inertia.
Fundamentally, doing nothing is a choice. Doing nothing so that nobody complains is a choice and, simultaneously, a perpetuation of problems. It does not simply mean leaving things as they are, there is responsibility in inertia too. Politicians in Greece are no different from those abroad. There are reactions and complaints everywhere, but there are also more and less daring politicians. In Greece, Trikala works very well. Larisa is another city where they dared. They are, of course, smaller and flatter. Athens does not dare, because there are too many competent Authorities. If a mayor wants to make a change, he cannot do it alone, he needs the Region, which is very large, and he needs the Government. Getting everyone to coordinate, the Traffic Police, OASA, they prefer to do other things instead of sitting down together. But we, as commuters, pay for this. That is where we should be complaining, not about Kifissos.
A characteristic example of a measure for Athens is the 30 km/h speed limit, which covers 60% of the city’s roads. It is not a blanket measure, it does not mean driving on Syngrou or Vouliagmenis Avenue at 30 km/h. It is a measure that is overwhelmingly positive and ultimately, society, after the first six months of resistance, has embraced it. Entire cities have been transformed. As we said earlier, you are afraid to cycle in Athens, but if the 30 km/h limit is enforced, you will not be afraid, so this issue is resolved too.
The Authorities first introduce the laws and then enforce them. Already from the first phase, some people comply without enforcement. In the case of the 30 km/h speed limit, if someone drives at that speed, others behind will follow, whether they want to or not. Heavy enforcement is not necessarily required. However, without any enforcement, compliance will gradually decline. There is now a fundamental commitment from the Authorities to install traffic cameras, which is underway, and most importantly, for fines to be sent digitally. This will bring entirely new thinking, because until now we knew the laws existed but were not enforced. When we start realizing we are being fined, we change. So, when cameras with digital fines are added, we will see a compulsory change in culture.
There is no cultural change in Europe that is not, to some extent, compulsory. People do not have culture by themselves, the Authorities are the ones who shape culture. When the British or German tourists come to Greece, they disregard the Road Traffic Code. Likewise, when Greeks go to Germany or the UK, nothing changes in their mindset, they simply fear the consequences. Culture is created by the Authorities through law enforcement. Regarding the common complaint that fines are revenue-driven: if the Traffic Police give you a fine 2 or 3 times, you will stop committing violations and they will have no reason to fine you again. So, a system of traffic officers that issues fines correctly, will eventually go bankrupt, because it will have no revenue.
In recent years we have seen a significant reduction in road crashes. How do you explain this?
The past year, 2025, was a very good year for road safety. We had 664 fatalities in 2024 and 517 in 2025. We are talking about 148 lives saved. Why were they saved? It was not magic. Throughout 2025, the Traffic Police were continuously enforcing helmet use and drink-driving. These are two fundamental violations. And the most significant improvement came from helmet use. In Greece, 38% of fatalities are motorcyclists, while in the European Union the figure is 16%. Why? Because previously, 80% of riders and 65% of pillion passengers wore helmets, whereas now 95% of riders and 85% of pillion passengers do. This saved most of the 148 lives. That is how culture changes.
Look around in Athens. You hardly see anyone without a helmet now, whereas two years ago many rode without one. Let me also address the supposedly revenue-driven nature of enforcement. The Traffic Police of Thessaloniki were pioneers on the helmet issue and, already by mid-2025, were issuing virtually no helmet fines because there was virtually no one without a helmet. This completely debunks the revenue myth. No money was flowing into the Authorities; they were there to save lives. What happens if you wear a helmet? You save your life. Likewise, if you do not drink and drive, you save both your own life and the lives of others.
The same applies to speed, which still lacks systematic enforcement, cameras have only been introduced on certain roads. These 148 lives we saved in 2025, if systematic speed enforcement follows, we could save just as many more. We had the 25th position in Europe, now we are 21st-22nd, and we could reach the average. We were last, and with 2-3 simple moves as helmet enforcement, drink-driving enforcement, speed enforcement, new speed limits and a stricter Road Traffic Code, we can approach the average. Little by little, without spending billions.
You can achieve road safety on par with other European countries through better enforcement and a change of culture brought about by the Authorities through the Traffic Police. When I said at the start that we are pleased with what we achieve, some might say “how can you be pleased here in Athens where nothing works?” We are pleased because we saved 148 lives. And there is nothing better, there is no greater joy than a professional achieving their goals and saving lives.
What advice would you give to young people taking to the roads, to those who hesitate to use alternative transport, to all of us who depend on public transport?
In one phrase: walk as much as possible. It is good for your health, it is good for feeling better, it is good for the environment, it is good for traffic. I will walk in order to go to work, I will walk to the bus stop, I will walk and cycle. Everyone should try as much as they can. Long commutes for work and for leisure are a burden on the city and on the commuters themselves. For long distances, use public transport and find a way to be served well. It is not always straightforward, especially if you live in one area and work in another, but sometimes you can manage it: if your workplace has offices in various locations, try to go to the one closest to you.
But walking and public transport, if you find the right routine and timing, if it is very busy, go an hour earlier or an hour later, combine it with your work schedule and you will travel faster and more comfortably. Public transport is not full all day long. It is not 24 hours, it is 2-3 hours in the morning, then it is better. Anyone who can, should try it. And remote working, one day you can work from home, another day you can work from home in the morning and then go in when there is no traffic. But ultimately, city life is about walking. And the more we walk, the easier it will be to move away from the private car. When there are more of us using public transport, and we speak up too, the more of us there are, the better the city balances. The more we stay silent, the more we let private cars oppress the many commuters. Walk, speak up, for a better city.
Interview on the Podcast “Break It Down“, Ep. 03 in April 2026
