A policy tool for island transport cost inequality: Exploration of the application of the Transport Equivalent Threshold on Greek islands

Many islands face accessibility problems that burden both the cost and the time of sea transport. In Greece, with more than 100 inhabited islands, the Transport Equivalent Threshold (TET) was recently introduced to support passengers (subsidizing ticket costs) and businesses (subsidizing transportation costs). The purpose of this study is to explore: (a) the spatial distribution of beneficiaries of TET; (b) the quantities, value and features of the freight transported to and from the islands; (c) to map the geography of the beneficiaries in relation to island size and location. Results reveal the unequal economies of Greek islands, and inter-island competition as well as the high disparities policy tools for businesses have to operate within. Moreover, the importance of radial transport links with the metropolitan area of Athens and the dependence of all islands on imports is highlighted. They also indicate the relative importance of geography in the magnitude and frequency of transport for goods and passengers among the Ionian and Aegean Seas, but also within the different clusters of the Aegean. The TET approach is one of the possible approaches that can and have been used to face transport and travel issues that people and businesses on islands face.