PN accuse government of public transport hypocrisy

People stuck in traffic propose solutions to Malta's traffic problems

People waiting at bus complain about Malta's public transport

Transport shadow minister Anthony Bezzina said that the government is acting very differently with regards Malta’s public transport thanit had when it was in Opposition in 2011.

“The Labour Opposition didn’t give [previous public transport operators] Arriva a chance. They campaigned against it from day one and were quick to file a no-confidence motion against the government over it,” Bezzina said on Monday night’s edition of Reporter that focused on traffic, infrastructure, and public transport. “Labour’s pre-electoral manifesto said that they were going to introduce a reliable public transport system as quickly as possible. They’ve been in government for one and a half years now and [Transport Minister] Joe Mizzi is still telling everyone to give him a chance.”

Talks between the government and Autobuses de Leon are still ongoing but Transport Minister Joe Mizzi said that he expects the Spanish company to take over Malta’s public transport system in January. Mizzi has not denied that the bus fares will rise, simply saying that they will be ‘affordable for everyone’.

The company is expected to receive an annual government subsidy of between €25 and €29 million, whereas Arriva used to receive an annual subsidy of €10 million. During Reporter, Mizzi produced a document showing that Arriva were demanding an annual subsidy of €45 million.

The new system will also include a new set of routes, the details of which can be seen on Transport Malta’s website.

“The government consulted with every local council before coming up with the final version,” Mizzi said, dismissing a suggestion by former Transport Minister Jesmond Mugliett that the government hadn’t consulted enough people before releasing the new routes.

National statistics show that 329,053 motor vehicles were licensed in Malta in June, 58,000 more than were licensed in 2004. 252,547 of these are passenger vehicles.

“Traffic is one of Malta’s greatest problems and there are far too many cars on our roads,” Mizzi said “Yet I am convinced that people will shift from private to public transport if we introduce a trustworthy public transport system.”

Despite the rising Maltese car population, there are only 341 hybrid vehicles, 149 electric vehicles, and 21 battery-operated vehicles on our roads.

“The previous Nationalist government had launched a strategy to encourage more people to use electric cars,” Bezzina said. “I wouldn’t say that we failed though. We need to change the mentality of people to encourage them to use electric cars so we’re talking about a long-term process here.”

However Mizzi said that, despite the statistics, Malta was one of the leading European European countries when it comes to the promotion of electric cars and that the government had presented a strategy to the EU aimed at encouraging more people to buy electric cars. 

In response to a question by opinionist Ramona Frendo about whether public transport for children should be free so as to reduce early morning traffic caused by parents driving their children to school, Bezzina came up with another solution.

“Different schools could open at different times,” Bezzina said.

Live current affairs programme Reporter is presented by Saviour Balzan and produced by MediaToday. The programme’s new format includes lawyer Ramona Frendo as a resident opinionist.

Reporter is aired live every Monday at 9.45pm on TVM 1