Priorities for the Sustainability of Maritime and Coastal Passenger Transport in Europe

Maritime transport is both a major source of environmental pollution and a great opportunity for reducing road traffic. Moreover, for some Mediterranean countries, maritime transport offers a way to improve cross-border connectivity. However difficult this may be, improving maritime passenger transport is one way to increase cross-border connectivity and, in some cases, reduce the use of private cars. For this reason, the European Union is pursuing an intensive policy in support of the sustainable development of maritime transport, working on many fronts, including the strengthening of EU legislation on this topic, technical and financial support to reducing emissions from international shipping, investments for the improving of port facilities and infrastructures, involving national governments and regions in the definition of roadmaps and new targets towards 2050. There are many possible directions for improving maritime transport: ship technologies, port management, interchange connectivity, transit planning, and so on. The goal of this book is to collect rigorous contributions about what are currently considered to be the main areas of improvement to be pursued in cross-border maritime passenger transport. The book opens with an overview of EU policies on maritime and coastal transport. In the following chapters, a series of analyses and tools are proposed whose systematic application can significantly contribute to improving maritime passenger transport. This book was conceived within the framework of the MIMOSA project (Maritime and Multimodal Sustainable Passenger Transport Solutions and Services, Interreg V-A Italy-Croatia CBC Programme 2014-20). The project is focused on the improvement of cross-border connectivity between Italy and Croatia by tackling the common challenge of increasing multimodality and reducing the impact of transport on the environment.