Case Study 5 – Extension of the Adriatic-Ionian corridor from Peloponnese to Crete

stakeholders should collaborate and coordinate their activities in order to foster transfers.

8.6 Case Study 5 – Extension of the Adriatic-Ionian corridor from Peloponnese

8.6.2 Current Business Model

Figure 8.14 - Current Business Model of Patras-Piraeus-Crete

8.6.3 Current Level of Quality and Missing Links

The passenger flows from the Adriatic corridor to Crete reach the final destination via the hub port of Piraeus. The identified barriers are mainly of functional and operational “service” character, since from the physical viewpoint infrastructural connections exist and, therefore, the necessary conditions are fulfilled. The port of Patras, offers direct access to the entire Peloponnese Region. On the contrary, the maritime transport (ferry) services linking continental Greece (including the Peloponnese) to Crete are mainly based on the Piraeus hub port. There are already some established ferry lines between southern the Peloponnese and northern Crete but the service frequencies and quality are not satisfactory while the seasonal character of these flows creates wider problems of fleet optimization. Resulting from this “missing link”, the majority of passengers use the Piraeus port thus creating important trip deviations.

In the current situation, ferry operations in the Adriatic–Ionian corridor are fully independent from the other legs of the chain. Ferry services from the Peloponnese to

59% ma l e and 41% fema le 47% between 36- 55, 35% a bove 65 a nd the 12%

between 21-35 The most common des tination to Crete i s the city of Cha nia; s tart ori gi n of the pa ssengers is 36% from Ita l y Internet servi ces

through a s a fe on – l i ne booking s ys tem a nd a dverti s i ng through medi a .

Ea ch tra nsport s ervi ce has its own cus tomer s ervi ce

rel a tionship plan.

Ti ckets

Adverti sement on the mea ns of ea ch tra ns port opera tor

Ana l ysis of typical “monomoda l publ i c tra ns port s ervi ce (ei ther urba n or i nter-urba n).

The topi c fa l l s i nto the a nalysis of typi ca l

“monomoda l ” public tra ns port s ervi ce.

Ana l ysis of typical

“monomodal”

public tra nsport s ervi ce.

The topi c fa l l s i nto the a nalys i s of typi ca l

“monomoda l ” public tra ns port s ervi ce (ei ther urba n or i nter- urba n).

Tra ns port s ervices of va ri ous modes -not i ntegra ted- a re offered along the exa mi ned corri dor.

addition, any inland (bus or train) transport service from the port of Patras to the port of Kalamata is missing. Significant opportunities exist for the improvement and coordination of these connections. Ferry services in the Adriatic–Ionian corridor steadily present a high level of service; this is not the case for ferry operations between southern Peloponnese and Crete. There is considerable space for improvement of the latter, as well as to inland connections between the ports of Patras and Kalamata.

It is revealed that the main Gap for Case 5 is the “Low level of service of current intermodal transport service”, according to WP2 classification and typology.

Moreover, this corresponds to an extreme gap case since the current situation is based on successive independent mono-modal services on various legs of the corridor, neither coordinated to each other nor integrated. The main focus of the proposed model is on the current “missing link” i.e. the inland leg between Patras and Southern Peloponnese, which needs to be integrated into the network.

8.6.4 Changes for improved Interconnectivity

The proposal of Case Study 5 deals with the development of an alternative, fully integrated intermodal transport service for passengers between Western/Central Europe through Italy and the Adriatic–Ionian corridor and Crete, avoiding deviation through Piraeus. The study examines the entire network configuration of such an integrated service, including: a) the long distance ferry transport between Italy and the port of Patras; b) the inland leg connecting the port of Patras to the southern Peloponnese and c) the medium distance ferry transport from southern Peloponnese to Crete. The proposed business model activates the “missing link” i.e. the inland leg between Patras and Southern Peloponnese.

In addition, the proposed business model is related to new touristic services. The Service Offering consist of two packages: the “direct transport to Crete” (for Non- Stop Travellers) and the “Transport and Tourism” package. The package for the Non- Stop Travellers offers the direct access from an Italian Adriatic port to Crete through the ports of Patra and Kalamata. This service will cover the missing link that exists today, minimizing the trip deviations. The “Transport and Tourism” package combines the transfer from an Italian port to Crete with a two days sightseeing tour

in the Peloponnese. This package includes transportation, accommodation and sightseeing tour with one ticket for the whole chain.

Description of the future Business Model Value proposition

• Service improvement: travel time reduction, transport cost reduction

• Service enlargement and additional benefits for users: integrated package including transport and touristic services (accommodation, cultural activities etc.)

• Additionally, the bundle of new products and transport services relates to

“newness”, “performance” of the transport system, “accessibility”

Channels

A 3rd Party Provider (the entity) assumed to operate the proposed business model will have two main channel categories for reaching its customer segments:

• The “direct” -mainly electronic- channel, through the use of the Internet websites of stakeholders directly involved in the proposed business model

• The indirect channels, notably travel agents or tour operators involved as

“intermediary” customers Customer Relationship

Using the mentioned channels, the customer relationships will be leaded in a more personalized and reliable frame.

Customer segments

• Non-Stop Travellers (64% of the target population)

• Travellers with Stops (travellers’ that want to use their car, such as those that travel with children and/or have high incomes- 36% of the target population) Revenue Streams

Tickets per destination, services related to touristic activities (museums, archaeological areas, other touristic sights etc) and provided services at the level of interchange.

Key Resources

Resources to be committed by the transport operators include:

• Physical (vehicles, vessels, customer support centers, terminals)

•

• Financial (investment for upgrading transport means and infrastructure) Assets required by the 3rd party provider include:

• The Human resources of the 3rd party provider will include the following critical posts (manager, admnistrator, technical support, helpdesk, operators)

• Financial (investment for the development of upstream interfaces and, if necessary, for increasing platform capacity)

Key Activities

The required Key Activities can be separated in two sectors. The Key activities realized by a 3rd Party Provider and the ones realized by the transport operators.

Concerning the 3rd Party Provider, the Key activities are related to the management and the monitoring of the service offering (Implementation of a Platform, Implementation of a system of repair services). Concerning the transport operators, key activities are related to the the provision of transport and the high level of handling services with integrated schedules, to an upgraded booking system which will provide real time online reservations, to customer support before during and after the trip, to implementation of software and support technology.

Key Partnerships

The business model is based on partnerships between the transport operators, the travel agencies, the port authorities, local authorities, Chambers of Commerce.

Cost Structure

The suggested business model is clearly cost-value driven. From a management accounting standpoint there are two types of costs in delivering the planned service bundle:

• Fixed Costs

• Variable Costs

• Total Costs – the sum of fixed and variable costs.

From a decision-making standpoint, a price must be selected so that the contribution margin is positive. A simple and workable way to calculate the (minimum) price required for the service bundle to breakeven is by setting the contribution margin to zero.

8.7 Case Study 6 - Gare do Oriente Interchange, Lisbon