The Athens Mass Transit System is currently one of the most modern and efficient systems in Europe. It consists of a large bus fleet, a trolley fleet that mainly serves the downtown area, the Athens Metro,a tram line connecting the southern suburbs to the city center and the Athens Suburban Railway services.

Metro

The Athens Metro is one of the most impressive underground Mass Transit systems in the world. It currently operates four lines, three of which are distinguished by the colors used in the relevant maps and signs (green, blue and red).

Buses

The bus service consists of a huge network of lines operated by normal buses, electric buses, and natural gas run buses (the largest fleet of natural gas run buses in Europe). There are plenty of bus lines serving the entire Athens Metropolitan Area.

Tramway

The tram runs from Syntagma Square to the southwestern suburb of Palaio Faliro, where the line splits in two branches. The first branch runs all along the Athens coastline towards the southern suburb of Glyfada while the other one heads towards the Piraeus district of Neo Faliro. Both Syntagma - Palaio Faliro - Neo Faliro and the Syntagma - Glyfada lines opened on 19 July 2004. Further extensions are planned towards the major commercial port of Piraeus and the southernmost suburb of Vouliagmeni.

Taxi

There are many taxis in Athens. They are quite cheap and during rush hours it is even considered normal to flag a taxi even when another customer is already in (although, formally, this is forbidden); in that case, if the one flagging the taxi happens to go to the approximate direction as the customer already using it and the customer does not mind (seldom if ever is this an issue), he is also allowed in, and each one gives the fare they would normally give as if they were the only customer.

Airport

Athens is served, since March 2001, by the ultra modern Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport located near the town of Spata, in the eastern Mesoghia Plain, some 35 km east of Athens. There is an Express Bus service connecting the airport to the metro system and 2 express bus services connecting the airport to Piraeus port and the city centre respectively.

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