Evaluation of the level of service of the public transport operator of Thessaloniki before and after its nationalization

Abstract

In this paper, the transition of the Organization of Urban Transport of Thessaloniki (hereafter OASTh) from private to public ownership is examined, with a short questionnaire survey among users of OASTh, who answered simple questions such as when they think that the level of service was better, if they see tickets inspectors as often as they did before the nationalization, how they would describe their trips, qualitative questions, etc. The questionnaire was answered by 213 passengers. The main problems that were detected were the following: 1. After the nationalization, the number of operational buses and their frequency dramatically dropped. 2. Telematics started to have many problems, and the information provision was no longer valid enough. 3. There was a lack of ticket inspections that led to ticket evasion, thus increasing the deficits of the Organization. 4. Most buses were overcrowded, and this led to an increase in petty crime rates (e.g., pickpocketing). 5. Due to overcrowded buses, it was sometimes impossible to board at the bus stops. Many problems were identified, but there were also many problems before the nationalization. The results are interesting, but a long-term assessment will be more useful to derive safe conclusions.