The car is the preferred mode of transport for 46 percent of Greeks as opposed to 53 percent of Europeans in the EU27, according to a Eurobarometer poll released in March. Another 25 percent of Greeks opt for public transport, 13 percent walk, seven percent use a motorbike (compared with two percent in the EU27 on average) and just three percent cycle.
In the EU27 countries as a whole, 22 percent mainly use public transport, 13 percent walk, seven percent cycle and just two percent use a motorbike.
Men are the most attached to their cars as their main means of transport (59 percent) while women are more likely to use public transport or to walk.
When asked about the replacement of existing car charges with "pay-as-you-drive" schemes that take into account the actual use of a car, roughly half of European citizens broadly agreed with such changes and 16 percent strongly agreed, while 20 percent replied 'don't know/no answer'.
In Greece, 57 percent supported a change in current car charges, with 19 percent agreeing strongly and only 11 percent disagreeing strongly, while 15 percent were unwilling or unable to reply.
Support for a change was strongest in Luxembourg (71 percent), Italy (68 percent) and Holland (64 percent), followed by Cyprus (61 percent) where 89 percent of residents prefer motorised transport such as cars and motorbikes.
Asked what compromises they would accept in order to reduce emissions, 68 percent of Europeans said they would be prepared to driver at lower speeds while 62 percent would be prepared to reduce their car's size.
Greeks ranked third at 81 percent, after Cypriots and Luxembourgians, in agreeing to sacrifice car speed in order to reduce emissions, first in agreeing to reduce car size and third in agreeing with an increase in car prices.
Reasons given by European car users for not using public transport were the lack of connections (72 percent), that public transport was not as convenient as the car (71 percent), low frequency of services (64 percent), that it was 'unreliable' (54 percent), too expensive (50 percent), a lack of information on services (49 percent) and over security concerns (40 percent).
Reasons given by Greek car users for not using public transport included low frequency of services (82 percent), no connections (77 percent), greater convenience of the car (75 percent), lack of information on services (73 percent), unreliability (64 percent), security concerns (53 percent) and that public transport was too expensive (55 percent).
Greeks are also Europe's biggest fans of a single ticket covering all means of public transport at 84 percent, following by the Spanish, Cypriots, Luxembourgians and Italians.
source: ANA
