The Minister for Civil Protection, Michalis Chrysochoidis gave, in a post on Facebook, details on the implementation of the “Ariadne” plan for security on public transport, while revealing that another 50 police officers are being added as of today, bringing the total number of police officers on public transport to 270.

The post by Mr Chrysochoidis:

“Our priority is the everyday life of the citizen. Safety in public transport.

Safety is inextricably intertwined with the everyday life of citizens. The citizen, the visitor, every person in our country must move freely, without fear. To be and feel safe. This is the goal of the policy of the Ministry of Citizen Protection and the operational actions of the Hellenic Police.

Public transport is a strategic pillar of sustainable urban mobility and a daily choice for citizens’ mobility, especially in urban centres and of course in Attica. Safety in their use is a basic prerequisite for more and more people to choose them, especially during these months when millions of tourists visit Athens and traffic to and from the airport and our ports has increased.

In 2021 we had launched the first phase of the Ariadne Plan to enhance security on the Metro and the HSTP. A project that was continued, tested and positively evaluated. For this reason, by integrating other means of public transport into a comprehensive policing plan, from February 2025, we are implementing the second phase of the “Ariadne” Plan, which now covers, in addition to the Metro and the HSTAP, the Tram, the Suburban Railway, and the urban buses.

A comprehensive policing grid: foot patrols by police officers in trains and buses, police presence at stations, seasonal patrols alongside the routes.

Operational presence on the train in the station.
In the four months of implementing this new plan, we had a daily presence on all five of these means of transport of 220 police officers. 120 on the HSTAP – TRAM – METRO, 43 on the Suburban Railway, and 57 on the buses.

The results are significant and highlight the success of this initiative with a significant improvement in the safety of daily use of Public Transport, contributing to the cultivation of a new culture of gradual weaning from private cars.

☑️ 54,671 checks: 21,876 on METRO, TRAM and HSTAP, 16,074 on the Suburban Railway and 16,721 on buses, mainly in the areas of Acharnon, Zefiriou, Aspropyrgos and Piraeus.

☑️ 900 arrests: 299 on METRO – TRAM – HSTAP, 276 on Suburban Railway and 325 on buses. Of these, 425 were related to drug possession, 286 to illegal aliens in the country, 49 to theft and robbery, and 37 to the weapons law.

Every day, across the country, we are consolidating a sense of security and fighting crime. For this reason, from today, another 50 police officers will be added to the plan, bringing the total number of police officers on public transport to 270: 136 on the HST, TRAM and Metro, 47 on the Suburban Railway and 87 on buses.”