'Do you know anyone who ditched their car to use the bus?' - PN MP blasts lack of shift in transport

Shadow minister for energy, Ryan Callus blasted government's lack of will to shift commuters away from personal vehicles.

On Wednesday, after thousands of commuters got stuck in gridlock traffic during the morning rush hour, Callus asked those present in parliament, "Do you know anyone who ditched their car after bus fares became free?" The PN MP said that despite government's expinditure to subsidise bus fares, commuters are still opting to use their personal vehicles.

Callus noted that the traffic situation on Wednesday, which was blamed on prolonged road works in St Julian's and Muslim Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Paola, shows the lack of a modal shift away from cars.

"Apparently every feast under the sun was celebrated this morning," Callus joked, referencing ex-transport minister Aaron Farrugia's comments in 2022, where had attributed part of the country's traffic congestion to summer feasts.

Last March, MaltaToday reported that a master plan commissioned by Transport Malta almost a decade ago predicted the state of Maltese roads. Among the weaknesses noted at the time which are still unaddressed, the master plan lists the lack of available space for alternative modes of transport, low car occupancy rates, poor compliance with traffic rules and a road network designed for vehicular traffic.

Meanwhile, Maltese commuters are still waiting on government to introduce its plan which would see certain services that require road access not start before 9:00am to ease traffic congestion.