The OASA transport system covers the whole of the Athens area and the bus fare of €0.45 (€0.20 for students and those entitled to reduced rates) is a cheap alternative to taking the car; parking in Athens for the day costs at least €10. Once you board the bus you need to validate your ticket by punching it in one of the orange machines that are by the door of the buses. Each ticket, once it has been punched, is valid for two hours and can be used on several buses during this time depending on your route. Tickets can be bought singly or in books of ten from kiosks, terminuses and in many small shops. 

TICKETS CANNOT BE PURCHASED ONCE YOU HAVE BOARDED THE BUS. Children under six years travel free and students and elderly people are entitled to reduced fares. Monthly passes for buses and trolleys cost €17.50 or €8.80 for those entitled to reduced fares. Monthly passes for all public transport (buses, trolleys and ISAP and metro trains) cost €35.00 or €17.50 for those who are entitled to reduced fares. These passes are on sale at train stations and at special kiosks located near bus and trolley terminals. Annual passes for buses and trolleys are sold at a cost of €175 and passes to ride all forms of public transport (buses, trolleys and ISAP and metro trains) for one year cost €350. Annual passes are valid from January 1st to December 31st each year. If a pass is purchased in the middle of the year, the cost is calculated accordingly but this can only be done up until August 31st after which date, only monthly passes can be bought until the end of the year. Annual passes are sold at the Athens Urban Transportation Organisation (OASA) located at 15 Metsovou, Athens and at the Syntagma and Ethnikis Amynas metro stations. For more information tel: 210 820 0882 or 210 820 0977.

There are three Express Service buses running to the airport (highlighted in blue). E94 from Ethnikis Aminas metro station, E95 from Syntagma and E96 from Piraeus. These buses pick up passengers at designated stops along their respective routes but no passengers may alight before the airport. The E95 and E96 buses run 24 hours a day. The E94 bus runs between 7:30am and 11:30pm. Fares for this particular service are as follows: €2.90 (valid for 24 hours for one airport journey plus any additional travel on any kind of public transport within the Athens area). NB: the monthly bus passes do not cover these express services.

The table below outlines some of the major bus routes operating in the Athens area but if you require more detailed times/routes, information can be obtained from OASA the Bus Company's Information Centre on tel no: 185. Services denoted in yellow are trolley services.