Glossary:Maritime service area
A maritime service area is an area that can be reached within a given travelling time, starting from a location at the coast and using the existing transport network. The selected travelling time is the commuting time. The applied commuting time depends on the focal points of interaction (large ports, small ports and coastal settlements). The surface area of the maritime service areas is calculated by aggregating all the service areas of all maritime transport ports and coastal settlements in the European Union (EU). The aggregation method takes into account the coverage of a surface area, without double counting if several points affect the same areas. The population housed in the maritime service areas is evaluated using the 2001 census data by LAU2. The population is estimated in proportion to the coverage. Each LAU2 has been affected to a NUTS 3 2006. The complete coverage of service areas from any port is calculated for each LAU2. This results in a set of 26 700 LAU2 with more than 5 % of their surface area covered by a service area.