When you say the word bus most people think of waiting, but a revolutionary new traffic light system promises faster commuting and a timetable you can rely on.

The smart lights are set to cut commuting times by up to 20 percent on busy routes by giving the red light to waiting. Height sensors are the key to this bid to prioritise public transport as they acknowledge the presence of buses and give them right of way wherever possible.

Green light for buses

The pilot scheme has been particularly effective in conjunction with bus lanes, enabling longer distances to be covered more quickly. With fewer stops and an estimated seven percent gain in speed, buses are able to travel faster than cars on specific routes.

"These traffic lights are designed to help public transport by giving buses right of way only when possible, Mass transportation expert Yiannis Frantzeskakis reassure car drivers. They regulate traffic without causing additional problems to other drivers by helping relieve congestion on bus routes."

The public works ministry has identified convenience as king and believes the news will prompt more Athenians to leave their cars behinf in favour of lower cost, quicker public transport. This optimistism has been borne out by the positive results of the Athens new metro system opened early in 2000.

Get where you're going

The potential to get where you're going faster has been the key to the success of the marble metro as a 40 minute car journey can be covered in six minutes by going underground. The effect has been to boost the numbers using public transport by up to 100,000 daily with close to half a million city dwellers using the metro at least once a week.

As the metro's extension continues the number of public transport users is expected to rise. Combined with a more efficient bus network, which has recently been added to by Europes first natural gas bus fleet, the creation of two tram lines connecting the centre to the southern suburbs and the opening of a number of new roads intersecting the city, Athens chronic circulation should be flowing more freely by the time the Olympics arrive in 2004.

Drivers' cooperation needed

Not everyone is convinced that the smart lights will be an instant hit though, "Similar traffic lights have proved effective in other countries," says transport analyst Giorgos Yiannis. But he believes the success of these traffic lights in Athens could be hindered by two factors: the shortage of bus lanes and drivers willingness to respect them. "A bus may be helped by a light equipped with a height sensor but if it has to stop 100 metres away because of a taxi picking up a passenger then there is no time gained. Under such circumstances precise journey times remain hard to estimate and bus schedules difficult to plan."