Porto Germeno: the bus returns after 20 years

The bus link between Vilia and Porto Germeno is being reactivated within the next few days, according to an announcement by the Municipality of Mandra–Eidyllia released on Friday 21 August 2026. The route had remained inactive for around twenty years, leaving the seaside settlement without a regular public transport connection to the interior and, through it, to Athens. For permanent residents, and especially for those without a car, the absence of services meant depending on private means for every journey, from shopping to public services and appointments at health facilities. The municipality describes the resumption as the lifting of a long-standing isolation and not as a temporary arrangement for the summer season.

According to the announcement, the municipality has taken delivery of two buses granted free of charge by OSY, with the decision approving the transfer having been taken on 15 July 2026. The two vehicles will cover the routes from Vilia to Porto Germeno and from Porto Germeno to Vilia. The line starts with two daily services, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, a pattern the municipal authority presents as a starting point rather than as a final plan. Through Vilia, connections are envisaged with the existing services to Athens, while the planning also includes an Erythres–Vilia–Athens route. The municipality states that the operation of the line will be monitored and adjusted to actual needs.

Those involved in the process are the Mayor of Mandra–Eidyllia, Armodios Drikos, the Deputy Minister of Transport, Giorgos Kotsiras, and the management of OSY. The mayor linked the resumption to the overall effort to restore the area after the recent fire damage: “We are not simply returning to normality. In practice we are building a Porto Germeno better than before.” The fire has already prompted a series of actions in the municipality, among them the public thanks for the assistance of a water tanker. The transport link, however, concerns a different, long-standing issue, which predates the fire and relates to the settlement’s position at the north-western edge of Western Attica.

The announcement does not include departure times, either for the morning or for the afternoon service, and does not make clear the fare or how tickets will be issued. Nor are the stops along the route made public, or an exact start date, beyond the general reference to the next few days. There is no mention of who will actually operate the services, who will cover the cost of fuel and maintenance for the two vehicles, or whether the line will run at weekends too, a detail that matters for an area with heavy holiday traffic. It is not yet specified when the Erythres–Vilia–Athens route, described as part of the planning, will be activated. For the detailed timetable, residents will have to wait for a further announcement from the municipality.