Kyriakos Mitsotakis will visit Astypalea today, who from the “butterfly of the Aegean” will make announcements about the next energy steps and the creation of more “green and smart” islands in Greece.

Volkswagen will deliver the first five electric vehicles six months after the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between Greece and the German group.

A car is intended for the Municipality for the transportation of workers and a scooter so that technicians have direct access to even the narrowest alleys within the Castle. Also, one vehicle will be given to the port, one to the police, and one to the civil aviation service.

The goal of the program is for the approximately 1,500 conventional vehicles currently circulating on Astypalea to be gradually replaced by electric vehicles. The special subsidy system is going to lead to lower prices for electric vehicles on the island and even lower prices for chargers.

The Prime Minister will also announce the launch of the electronic platform e-astypalea that will allow residents and businesses of the island to receive significant subsidies for the acquisition of electric vehicles.

Against the background of Astypalea, Mr. Mitsotakis will try to highlight the importance of attracting foreign investment in our country for the development of the economy, will emphasize that the interest is a “vote of confidence” for Greece and will point out the comparative advantages. of the country for the safe opening of this tourist season.

It will refer to the green digital certificate and the observance of the measures so that the opening of this year’s tourist season is done with shields of protection from the pandemic for both tourists and employees and businesses.

What is changing on Astypalea

The goal is progressively on the island:

A) To replace conventional cars on the island with electric vehicles

Specifically, the 1,494 cars circulating in Astypalea are planned to be gradually replaced by 982 electric vehicles: 320 electric cars, 305 electric scooters, 59 electric light commercial vehicles, 32 electric trucks and 35 electric special applications vehicles.

B) New on-demand transportation services

On the island will be parked shared cars (car sharing): 3 stations / 50 electric cars.

Residents and visitors will have at their disposal parked micro mobility: 4 stations / 67 electric bicycles and 101 motorcycles

In addition, a minivan service is available upon request: 1 station / 13 electric minivans

Each route can be booked, simply and quickly, at any time, through the mobility app.

New innovative mobility services are one of the main goals of the project.

Residents now rely primarily on their own vehicles. Immediately, the traditional public transport will be converted into a shared vehicle service, which will use 100% electric minivans on request. These electric minivans will circulate on the island according to the needs of both permanent residents and visitors 24 hours a day.

An additional part of the existing seasonal vehicle rental network will be converted into a network of shared vehicles that will operate all year round for residents and visitors. This will reduce the need for privately owned means of transport.

C) Green energy and charging

The goal is for Astypalea to gradually become independent of fossil fuels through a hybrid system of energy production from Renewable Energy Sources.

In order to meet the energy requirements of the fleet of electric vehicles, a charging infrastructure network will be implemented.

Today about 1,300 permanent residents live on Astypalea, and the island hosts about 72,000 tourists annually.

This small island, 18 km long and 13 km wide, becomes the first in the Mediterranean to promote sustainable mobility.

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