By train and bus from ports to World Heritage Sites

Note on the source. This source should be read with caution: it may be funded by the sector, a draft or a thesis, or rely on self-reported or modelled data. See the limitations below.

The question

Can public transport allow cruise passengers to reach UNESCO sites in the hinterland of the main Mediterranean ports within times compatible with the call, compared with tour coaches and cars? Which policies would increase its use?

The method

Travel-time model estimated with Google Maps for 117 potential itineraries from the cruise terminal to UNESCO World Heritage Sites within 150 km, in 17 Mediterranean ports with at least 500,000 cruise passengers in 2015; comparison between direct transport (coach, car, taxi) and public transport by 30-minute bands, number of changes and walking time; simulation of cycling at 15 km/h.

What the study finds

54.70%of heritage sites within two hours by public transportBased on travel times estimated with Google Maps, 95.73% of the World Heritage Sites considered can be reached within two hours of the terminal by direct means (coach, car, taxi), but only 54.70% by public transport.

+28 minextra by public transport on 1-2 hour tripsPublic transport's average disadvantage compared with direct means grows with distance: about 12.6 extra minutes for trips within an hour, about 28 minutes between one and two hours, 55.6 minutes between two and two and a half hours, and about two hours beyond that.

88.03%of last legs to the site made on footFor the first leg, from the terminal to the regional transport station, itineraries are on foot in 75.21% of cases and by city bus in 23.08%; the last leg to the site is also walked in 88.03% of cases.

37.61%of public-transport itineraries are simpleOnly 37.61% of public-transport itineraries are simple (a single vehicle plus walking), and just 11.97% are both simple and within one hour; as journey time grows, so do changes, and the option becomes less attractive.

The authors rank ports by public-transport potential: high (Venice, La Spezia, Valletta, Palma, Kuşadası, Mykonos, Livorno, Piraeus), medium (Civitavecchia, Marseille, Naples, Genoa, Savona) and low (Barcelona, Dubrovnik, Corfu). In Barcelona walking legs of over 40 minutes weigh most; Dubrovnik has no railway.
In the authors' simulation, covering the longest first and last legs by bicycle (15 km/h) would raise the share of sites reachable by public transport within two hours from 54.70% to 74.36%.
In the regional model the train is the main axis: it is the first or only means of reaching the site in 78.63% of possible itineraries.

Why it matters for ports and cities

The study estimates how well public transport can compete in taking cruise passengers beyond the port city: it works for short trips and along rail lines, much less when several changes and long walks are needed. For ports and regions it suggests concrete levers: direct terminal-station shuttles, precise travel-time information, bike rental with return at stations, and longer ship calls. The data refer to 2015.

Limitations

Times estimated with Google Maps (best route, with no variation by day/time, seasonal delays or different walking speeds); only UNESCO sites within 150 km are considered; no data on cruise passengers' actual behaviour.

Full reference and source

Perea-Medina, B., Rosa-Jiménez, C., Andrade, M. J. (year n/a). Potential of public transport in the regionalization of the main cruise destinations in the Mediterranean.

Read the original study ↗

Summary written by the ODYBOAT Observatory in our own words. Tables and figures belong to the authors.