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Sustainable mobility for cruise passengers in Trieste

Trieste introduced themed routes starting from the maritime station, bike sharing and a tourist app, but the effects on travel choices were not measured because of the pandemic.

Mobility Measure: Sustainable Mobility Modes for Cruise Passengers (Trieste) – CIVITAS PORTIS Transferability. Insights into the implementation of smart mobility measures — CIVITAS PORTIS consortium · CIVITAS PORTIS consortium (progetto Horizon 2020, grant agreement No 690713)

WhereTrieste
Yearyear n/a
SourceCIVITAS PORTIS consortium (progetto Horizon 2020, grant agreement No 690713)
Strength of methodLimited

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

How can a city with a cruise terminal right next to its historic centre steer cruise passengers towards sustainable ways of getting around (walking, cycling, public transport)? The factsheet describes the measures adopted in Trieste and the lessons for other cities.

The method

Descriptive transferability factsheet on a measure implemented in the European CIVITAS PORTIS project (2017-2020): a soft-mobility guide, a tourist app based on the Smart Trieste data platform, bike sharing and themed routes. No measured impact data: benefits are expected, not evaluated.

What the study finds

≈ 1 in 5Trieste tourists were cruise passengers (2019)According to the document, Trieste received about one million tourists in 2019, around one in five of them cruise passengers.
3 piersfor cruise ships in TriesteThe city has three cruise piers, one of them a short walk from the main square: an advantage for those coming ashore, but also, according to the document, a serious mobility concern.
7 routesthemed, all starting at the maritime stationOn opening, the tourist app highlights seven themed routes that all start at the maritime station; at points of interest, totems with QR codes point users to the routes.
+3%public transport share, hoped-for targetThe project's hoped-for targets (not measured) are a 3% rise in public transport's share and a doubling of cycling thanks to the new bike-sharing scheme.
  • One of the project's bike-sharing stations, with e-bikes, was placed opposite the cruise pier to encourage cycling along the seafront and up to the city's hillier districts.
  • Among the difficulties, the document notes that it is hard to steer tourists towards sustainable modes in time, because agencies and cruise lines often sell all-in packages featuring options such as rental cars or taxis.
  • Because of the pandemic, no cruise passengers reached Trieste in 2020, so no data on the measures' effects could be gathered.
Why it matters for ports and cities

The case describes how a cruise terminal next to the city centre can become the starting point of a soft-mobility network, with walking routes, bike sharing and digital information combining public transport and parking data. The document also stresses that infrastructure is not enough: information must reach passengers in time, before they opt for ready-made transport packages.

Limitations

A project dissemination document with no impact assessment: the effects on modal split are only expected targets, never verified because of Covid-19. No data on cruise passenger flows or behaviour.

Full reference and source

CIVITAS PORTIS consortium (year n/a). Mobility Measure: Sustainable Mobility Modes for Cruise Passengers (Trieste) – CIVITAS PORTIS Transferability. Insights into the implementation of smart mobility measures. CIVITAS PORTIS consortium (progetto Horizon 2020, grant agreement No 690713).

Read the original study ↗

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