On car free day, Environment Minister takes the coach to work

Environment Minister Leo Brincat and his secretariat ditched the ministerial and private cars and instead rented a coach as part of an initiative to reduce car use on car free day.

Government’s decision to hold the car free day today, the first day when public schools opened their doors for a new scholastic year, did not go down well with commuters.

But the Minister insisted that the decision was taken on purpose, after the government was chastised by the EU for shifting the car free date days arbitrarily.

“All other member states have chosen today to hold Car Free Day together with many other countries worldwide to mark the International Car Free Day,” Brincat said. 

Contrary to the past, this year’s Car Free Day was made to coincide with the European Mobility Week while last year the ministry had organised a whole series of events linked to public awareness about air quality issues and problems.

Despite closing access to St Anne street in Floriana from Portes des Bombes, motorists still found a way to get round from side streets, with traffic flowing normally in St Anne Street.