Government considering subsidising public transport for students

The government is considering subsidising public transport for secondary school students, as a means of helping them attain independent life skills and reduce traffic on the roads.

Such a scheme was one of several proposals in a recently released White Paper intended at finding ways through which school logistics can reduce traffic congestion.

However, if the government decides to go down that route, it can only do so from the 2018/19 scholastic year, as it is bound by five contracts with transport service providers provided by the previous government in 2011.

The contracts, which have no termination clauses, cost the state €7.87 million in the 2014/15 scholastic year and the cost is estimated to increase.

In this year’s Budget, the government announced that it will launch a White Paper to initiate a consultation process on how changes in school logistics and the transport of children can reduce traffic congestion.

The Education Ministry set up a working group composed of three ministry representatives and two Transport Malta representatives, who developed the Working Group after consultation with stakeholders including the Malta Teachers’ Union, the GWU, the Malta Association of Parents of State School Students, the police and school transport providers.  

A public consultation process on the proposals in the White Paper has commenced, and feedback can be submitted until 5 October.

Currently, around 75.8% of Malta’s student population uses school transport, a rate that the White Paper proposes to increase to 95% through measures, such as by increasing the existing financial incentives for school transport to state schools and by financially subsidising school transport for church and independent schools.

Moreover, the White Paper proposes improving the quality of school transport provision - by addressing problems related to careless driving, pick-up hours and on-board supervision. Indeed, it claims that the absence of on-board supervision allows greater space for bullying and distracts drivers, and that

It also suggests that school administrations be supported in providing alternative means of transport - such as by providing cycle training and car sharing schemes, by promoting walking, and by including road safety in school curricula.

In villages, they recommend that school councils organize supervised walking routes to school for primary school children.