Police officers have begun to patrol buses, trains and Proastiakos suburban railway stations in western Attica under a new pilot program designed to combat antisocial behavior and ensure safety on public transport.
Up to 130 police officers, in uniform or undercover, will be deployed during the pilot program, PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted on a post on social media.
Patrols started last Friday, February 21, on buses in Liosia, Menidi and Zefyri.
Drivers welcomed the measure, Fotis Nikolakopoulos, the general secretary of Athens Urban Transport Organization workers, has stressed.
“We had incidents daily and every driver on his shift was faced with many problems. Especially on the A10 and B10 buses, drugs were being taken on the buses. The bus was ‘split’ in the middle in the evenings: the passengers sat up front while there was drug taking in the back seats,” said Nikolakopoulos.
Attacks on drivers were frequent. “With this measure, I believe both passengers and drivers will feel more secure,” he said.
Giorgos Stamatakis, president of the Western Attica Police Union, welcomed the measure as a step in the right direction to tackle a “serious problem.”
In the course of time, the officers will be replaced by a new unit of Special Guards, some media reported.
It’s rather sad that those measures have to be taken.😕