Page 121 - O Οργανισμός Αστικών Συγκοινωνιών Θεσσαλονίκης από το 1957 μέχρι σήμερα | The Organisation of Urban Transportation of Thessaloniki from 1957 to the present day

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The establishment of the Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organisation by Legislative De- cree 3721/ 1957 put an end to the ‘chaos’ and the competitive rivalry between trams and city buses that had prevailed in previous years. OASTH, a legal entity under private law, would henceforth be the undisputed and exclusive provider and regulator of urban transpor- tation in Thessaloniki, albeit under significant State supervision and control. The State’s confi- dence in OASTH’s services was continually renewed through new financial agreements and con- tracts until 2017, when the organisation was nationalised and placed in liquidation.
Despite the problems and difficulties that arose along the way, OASTH managed to carry out the demanding task of providing public transportation services for Greece’s second- largest city and meeting the needs of its residents. It kept pace with Thessaloniki’s growth, expanding into all neighborhoods and new hubs of activity. It gradually expanded into the prefecture’s outskirts, reaching villages that had previously been isolated and lacked adequate transportation, thereby quickly and affordably connecting people and places.
The photographs of OASTH buses in every corner and at all the city’s landmarks, or in its suburbs and outskirts, attest to the organisation’s important role as the exclusive provider of urban transport in the Greek co-capital. Because OASTH is –undoubtedly– inextricably linked to the history of Thessaloniki itself.
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