Intercity bus service

The maximum passenger capacity on all public transport in Greece as well as intercity buses (KTEL) is increased to 65 percent from the current 50 percent, according to a joint ministerial decision issued on Tuesday.

The decision will remain in place until June 14.

Tickets for the high-speed train were offered for sale on May 25 ahead of the resumption of services later this week, while major intercity bus companies have announced the recommencement of their services in early June.

The implementation of the third phase of the government's plan to lift restrictions introduced to halt the spread of the coronavirus will begin on Monday, with travel allowed between different regions on mainland Greece and the first ferry services to Crete. 

Services to the other islands will begin, conditionally, on May 25.

The decision to suspend intercity bus transport was adopted. Also, international and domestic passenger rail transport is being suspended, as well as international and domestic passenger waterway transport, the government's Office for Media Co-operation has announced.

The number of commuters on Athens buses and the metro dropped by 50 percent last week and has fallen another 70 percent so far this week due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus, according to Transport Minister Kostas A. Karamanlis.

Speaking on Open TV, he also said that intercity buses (KTEL) have reduced the number of their services.

German bus operator Flixbus has decided to reintroduce attendants on local coach service brand Kamil Koç after having received complaints from consumers.

The German company last year acquired Kamil Koç, which has been on the roads for more than nine decades, and decided to eliminate the bus attendants (muavin) and removed seat numbers.

Five years after it rolled out unmanned buses in a much-hyped pilot program, Trikala, Greece's first "smart city," has signed a contract with Lugano-based firm Amani Swiss for the purchase of two automated electric buses.

The Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization (OASTH) is to hold talks on Monday with representatives of the privately run intercity bus service (KTEL) in a bid to tackle a serious bus shortage in the northern port city.

Representatives of various branch organizations in the transport sector in Bulgaria have demanded the resignation of the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Petya Avramova because of what they say are unfair tariffs, as well as because the scope of the toll system.

A KTEL Intercity bus crashed into a metal barrier on the eastbound lane of the Thessaloniki-Edessa highway on Tuesday, injuring at least 12 people.

According to initial reports citing the EKAV ambulance service, nine women and three men ranging in age from 19 to 67 are being treated at two local hospitals for a range of breaks, bruises and more minor injuries.