Page 23 - O Οργανισμός Αστικών Συγκοινωνιών Θεσσαλονίκης από το 1957 μέχρι σήμερα | The Organisation of Urban Transportation of Thessaloniki from 1957 to the present day

Before 1957
Introduction
Public transport in Thessaloniki dates back to the late 19th century, when the city was under Ottoman rule. Specifically, as part of the city’s electrification, the Belgian Trans- port and Electric Lighting Company (Compagnie de Tramways et d’Eclairage Electrique
de Salonique), which had signed a contract with the Ottoman state, introduced trams as a means of urban transport. Initially it was horse-drawn (1893) but later became electric (1908). The tram was the main transportation medium for the people of Thessaloniki, with lines in- creasing in number over the years, but not straying far from the city centre and not in the new neighbourhoods that had begun to form in the surrounding areas. In 1940, the Belgian com- pany was bought by the Greek State, and the State Operation of Thessaloniki Tramways and
Lighting (KETITH) was established.
In parallel with the tramways, there was also maritime transport connecting the
city with the eastern coast, while the first private cars had begun to make their appearance. In fact, the first private city buses appeared in the 1920s, which initially had a small capacity of 5-7 seats. In the 1930s, as part of the spatial expansion of Thessaloniki, buses with 25-30 seats began to operate, connecting the centre with the newly developed neighbourhoods to the east and west (Chortiatis, Toumba, Kalamaria, Eleftherio-Kordelio). At the same time, in 1940, 40-seat buses also appeared. The road network was primitive in many of these areas, and traveling on these buses was often a struggle.
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