First of its kind study on ferry traffic governance published
We are excited to announce the release of a new study, Road and Island Ferry Traffic Governance and Markets in the Central Baltic Region, prepared by Professor Lauri Ojala, BSc Elias Joki-korpela and MSc Minna-Liina Ojala, University of Turku!
This study is Deliverable 1.2.1 of the REISFER project and was released on March 20, 2025, at the REISFER Island Ferry Summit.
The report is the first of its kind as it provides an overview of the size and governance structures and the categorisation of road and island ferry services in the Central Baltic region. It covers Estonia (EE), Finland (FI), Sweden (SE), and the Åland Islands (AX) where these ferry services are provided.
This cross-country study on road and island ferry markets in these four regions provides:
- aggregate information, which is typically sparse and difficult to find
- an analysis of EE, FI, AX and SE markets in English
- a typology of these specific markets that helps analyse them also in the future.
In the Central Baltic region, these ferry services are either fully or nearly fully subsidized by national, regional, or local authorities. Public funding allocated to these services across the four studied countries and regions amounts to approximately EUR 300 million per year.
In Estonia, Finland, the Åland Islands, and Sweden – including road and island ferry services in the whole of Finland and Sweden – these services collectively transport over 60 million passengers and 17 million vehicles annually. The Central Baltic region accounts for roughly two-thirds of this total.
See the Key Findings HERE and read the full report on REISFER website under project materials or HERE!
