STA, 18 June 2021 - The cross-border project Crossmoby will set up a ferry service this summer again, connecting four Slovenian coastal towns - Ankaran, Koper, Izola and Piran. Last year, the service was only available at weekends, now it will run every day except Mondays. The ferry will be available for a symbolic fare between one and three euros.
The shuttle ferry service will start on 26 June and run until 3 October, according to the project manager Heidi Olenik from the Regional Development Centre (RDC) Koper, who spoke at Friday's presentation.
She added that they will be using a boat with a capacity of 71 passengers, but due to Covid-19 prevention measures, it will be limited to a maximum of 21 people, slightly more in the event of a group. There will be 16 spaces for transporting bicycles as well.
Reservations will not be possible. In case of bad weather, the shuttle ferry will be cancelled, which will be announced on their website and social media.
The ferry service is a pilot initiative of the Crossmoby project, which is a part of the Interreg V-A Italy-Slovenia 2014-2020 programme and promotes sustainable mobility by launching intermodal passenger transport options.
According to the director of RDC Koper, Giuliano Nemarnik, the ferry will operate in the mornings and afternoons. Due to the increased frequency of trips, they have decided to introduce a symbolic fare between one and three euros.
He also admitted that they had some problems last year, as some passengers did not use the shuttle ferry as a way to get from point A to point B, but rather as a sort of a round trip.
Nemarnik expressed his wish for the ferry to continue operating after the end of the project. He estimated that the cost would not be sustainable, so they will try to reach an agreement with other Istrian municipalities regarding the funds for co-financing the ferry.
He also pointed out that in addition to the shuttle ferry, the bicycle bus (Kolobus) service is set to continue running free of charge on Fridays and weekends on the Koper - Štanjel route. A daily beach shuttle service between Brkini and Koper will also be operating in July and August.
