In December 2013 the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Michalis Chrysochoidis assigned the management of the Urban Transport Organization of Athens (OASA) to a young, qualified engineer and economist with extensive professional experience and studied in Britain and the USA .
Prior to this, the 35-year-old engineer proved his mettle at a project with the Ministry of Growth, where he headed the “Exostrefia” program.
That is more or less how Gr. Dimitriadis – an irrelevant div for the domestic political system – assumed the presidency of a tormented and deeply deficient state organization, which was usually managed by failed politicians, candidates and transportation engineers associated with the dominant parties.
Upon assuming his role at OASA he was faced with a suspicious, exhausted and fearful environment, that was skeptical and hostile towards the troika, which had issued a fatwa demanding thousands of dismissals and a ticket hike to 1.80 euros.
Mr. Dimitriadis had to deal with concerned employees, a fragmented transport network with a declining traffic volume and a state that wanted to spend increasingly less on urban transport, as well as the foreign creditors whose understanding of consolidation involves blood running in the streets.
He could have barricaded himself behind the troika’s fatwa and pretend to be a reformer, just like so many others did and are doing.
He, however, was taught differently at the Universities he attended. He was taught that across the board dismissals and cuts do not solve any problems, but on the contrary, they exacerbate the problems; also without any studies, plan and taking advantage of an organization’s abilities, you will not succeed.
So from the first moment he formed an group of experts, in coordination with the urban transport consultant of the Ministry of Transports, which collected data and experiences from the relevant transportation bodies in big cities abroad. The team quickly concluded that expanding the transportation volume would bring greater revenue and improve the people’s position than increasing ticket prices and cutting jobs.
According to Mr. Dimitriadis, the separate urban transportation organizations must be unified and coordinate their actions.
The buses, trolleys, electrical railway, tram and metro can provide a capable network that will reliably cover people’s needs and win them over, while bringing a rebirth of urban transportation, which will not draw funds from the state budget.
Determined, Mr. Dimitriadis and his small group came up with a specific plan and presented it to the troika.
At first they were skeptical and suspicious. But since they were organized and attentive, they solved all problems and ultimately managed to convince the troika the plan was sound and capable of yielding results.
That is more or less how we had a decrease of ticket prices instead of a ticket hike and how dismissals were averted.
On the 1st of September the organization is prepared to issue new tickets and a united transportation card, which will be the main product of urban transportation in Athens.
The card will cost 30 euros a month and every employee will be able to travel across Athens with all available means for one euro a day!
In the mean time, a further 130 measure are to be developed over the next two years.
Mr. Dimitriadis and his group claim that after they are implemented, urban transportation in Athens will be reliable, used extensively by the people and cost less to the State.
We do not know if they will achieve everything, but at present, what they have achieved is an example of reforms, true reforms, not like the ones the troika talks about.
Antonis Karakousis
Originally published in the Sunday print edition
