Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization

Ahead of the opening of the new metro in Thessaloniki at the end of November, the Greek government announced lower ticket prices for the metro and the bus over the next six months, in an effort to encourage and facilitate the combined use of public transport in the bottlenecked city.

Bus drivers in the northern port city of Thessaloniki will be walking off the job for five hours on Thursday, in action similar to their Athens colleagues.

The Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization (OASTH) is to hold talks on Monday with representatives of the privately run intercity bus service (KTEL) in a bid to tackle a serious bus shortage in the northern port city.

State corporations (DEKO) have been left in a sorry state following SYRIZA's four-year term in government and the next administration following the July 7 election will have to deal with explosive conditions, especially at Hellenic Post, the Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization (OASTh), Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE) and of course Public Power Corporation (PPC).

In a statement on Friday, Stelios Pappas, the head of the Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization (OASTH) described the burglary of his home on Thursday night as an attempt to hamper efforts to liquidate the company.

The burglary, during which only a laptop was stolen, was "a targeted intervention," Pappas said in a statement.

In the latest clash between the judiciary and the leftist-led government, the Council of State on Friday suspended a decision by the Transport Ministry to renationalize the Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization (OASTH).

The ruling followed an appeal by shareholders in OASTH for plans to liquidate the company to be suspended.

Recently, whenever government lawmakers have found themselves under pressure during their rare appearances on radio or television programs, the only thing they have seemed capable of doing is blaming their predecessors, saying, "The others before us did the same thing," or something along those lines.

There was a changing of the guard at the Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization (OASTH) on Thursday but it appears that the denunciation of the government's decision to remove the existing board and bring the firm under public control isn't going to stop anytime soon.

The government on Thursday defended its decision to appoint the father of a prominent minister and close friend of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to the helm of a state transport organization, rebuffing accusations of corruption and nepotism from across the political spectrum.

Opposition parties have accused the government of corruption and nepotism following the appointment on Wednesday of the economist Stelios Pappas, the father of Digital Policy Minister Nikos Pappas, as the new president of the Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization (OASTH).