Athens: No more illegal parking of tourist buses

The Municipality of Athens is trying to bring order to the traffic chaos caused by the tourist buses in the center of Athens, with their parking for long hours on the main arteries of the capital, by defining 11 points for this purpose, which will be strictly policed.

The aim of the entire intervention is the orderly operation, the decongestion of the central road arteries, the service of the professionals of the sector and the facilitation of the visitors of the city. In this context, the Municipality of Athens proceeded to define and mark 11 bus stop and parking areas throughout the city.

The relevant decision of the Municipal Council was taken after consultation with industry bodies and the owners of the vehicles, with the common goal of better organization of traffic, as now the number of tourist buses operating in the city has exceeded any previous one.

Parking and parking during peak hours – from 9 am to 6 pm – will only be allowed in these 11 spots, where special signs have already been placed, while parking will now be prohibited on Amalias Avenue and will only be allowed the short stop for disembarkation – boarding.

Access

This zoning, according to the Municipality of Athens, ensures the absolutely safe access of visitors to archaeological sites and points of touristic-cultural interest, without at the same time causing further problems to the traffic of vehicles and the passage of pedestrians.

The municipal police and the Traffic Police have already drawn up and are jointly implementing a special control and policing plan for the points marked as bus parking spaces, so that they are not occupied by other vehicles. The policing will also concern tourist buses, i.e. they will be prohibited from parking or stopping arbitrarily in other places or extending their stay beyond the prescribed few minute stop for boarding and disembarking.

It is the first time that stopping and parking areas for tourist buses in the city have been demarcated.

In this context, the General Hellenic Federation of Tourism Enterprises (GEPOET) points out that this is essentially the satisfaction of a decades-old request of professionals in tourist transport. It is expected to contribute significantly to the restoration of smooth traffic in the center of Athens, where many hotels, archaeological sites and museums, theaters and other points of tourist and cultural interest operate, throughout the year.

The Federation recognizes this decision by the municipality as a first, decisive step towards definitively solving the parking problems of tourist buses in Athens, through the creation of an underground parking space, a proposal that will dramatically improve vehicle traffic in the city and will essentially upgrade the quality of life in it. At the same time, GEPOET is committed to cooperate with the competent authorities by any appropriate means for the effective implementation of this innovative measure.

Parking is prohibited on Amalias Avenue and special signs allow parking at the following points:
From Goura to Lysikrates – downstream/right side
From Lysikratou to Dionysiou Areopagitou – downstream / right side.

Double-decker buses

Especially for double-decker buses, only a stop for alighting and boarding is allowed, at Kallimarmaro and Syntagma.