The issue of the new electronic travel cards for the Athens public transport system will be much faster after the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (DPA) was persuaded to revise its opinion about issuing them online, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis announced in an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA).
“Following the citizen’s ordeal, the HDPA revised its opinion and I want to thank its president for this,” Spirtzis noted in the interview, given on Monday. The HDPA’s change of heart would allow people to apply for personalised photocards online and receive them by post, without being physically present at ticket offices, he noted.
The Athens public transport organisation OASA had issued 351,064 ATHENAcards by Tuesday, a number deemed satisfactory given that the number of people using the paper monthly travel cards was around 250,000.
The data authority’s revised decision means that those not yet able to receive their travel card – including the unemployed, disabled and members of the military – will soon be able to apply online via the website www.athena.card and have it sent to an address of their choice.
The process of gradually closing the ticket barriers at all the stations is expected to continue until the end of the year, with barriers currently shut at just five stations.
OASA also urges commuters to take advantage of the various discounts offered for buying multiple single fares, which can cost as little as 1.23 euros each for the (10+1) tickets package, or 1.3 euros for five fares.
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Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Badseed License: CC-BY-SA
Source: ANA-MPA
