ATHENS—You have to pay to ride the Athens subway again. The ticket machines that last week had paper notices stuck to them announcing free rides for everyone have disappeared. Once more tickets booths are manned. It is perhaps a sign of the surreal nature of Greece's crisis that as the possibility of resolution nears, Greeks are forced to increase their expenditure.  With improvement comes cost: It could be a motto for the crisis itself.

For the last week, as the Greek government closed its banks and limited cash withdrawals, Athenians enjoyed free public transport by way of recompense. It was, admittedly, little consolation for the threat of possible financial apocalypse. On July 6, Greeks had comprehensively rejected austerity; a standoff—possibly a fatal one for the country—seemed set to follow.