The Greek island that plugged in

In a few years Astypalaia will be the quietest island and the waves of the Aegean will be the only noise that tourists will hear.

The transformation of Astypalaia into a sustainable electrified island seems to be on solid ground, thanks to the dynamic initiatives of the local municipal authority, which… chased the dream through a thousand and one problems and tribulations, as the mayor of Astypalaia, Nikos Komineas, said, during the presentation of VW, which has the supervision of the specific project, on the island that hosts 36,000 tourists who experience electric mobility with a positive response.

The project has attracted worldwide interest, with tangible results that bring smiles to those who viewed electrification with “suspicion”.

The “electrified” island not only offers solutions to visitors and the thousands of tourists who have the opportunity to move using an electric VW – the astyGO eCars framework includes eight Volkswagen ID.3s, six MO125 electric scooters and Ducati Scrambler electric bikes – but it has also pleasantly changed the philosophy of residents who take advantage of the privileges (with economic bonuses for buying an electric vehicle), while using urban transportation with electric vans.

ASTYBUS ridesharing

In the context of the presentation, we got to know up close the possibilities offered by the new ASTYBUS ridesharing service, the role of which is played by the new passenger vans, the purely electric ID.Buzz. In total, 84 electric vehicles are used on the island, of which 51 are privately owned and the rest are public utility vehicles. Even the island’s police patrol car is electric (a VW ID.4) as is the ambulance which only has an electric motor (e-Crafter).

ASTYBUS – the urban transport – operates all year round and connects most points on the island. In this way, the commuter needs on Astypalaia can be realized in an easy and simple way through the innovative application “astyMOVE” integrating in an innovative way all the services on the smartphone of the visitor and its permanent resident.

Indicatively, only within 12 months the customers of VW’s electric projects have traveled 200,000 kilometers while just as importantly the ridesharing service ASTYBUS has replaced the traditional bus line.

At the same time, visitors can use – through an application to book – SEAT MO electric scooters and Ducati electric bikes. At the same time, the electricity will be produced from renewable sources and not from the island’s power generation unit that burns oil, while there are already small but environmentally beneficial solar units that supply, among other things, the current electric vehicle fleet.

It is estimated that by 2026, the energy system will be further expanded to the final stage to cover 80% of the total energy demand.