Transport Minister floats ideas to wean university students off their cars

The Transport Ministry is considering radical proposals to try and wean University of Malta students off their private car and alleviate traffic congestion, MaltaToday has learnt.

Some of the ideas floated by the Transport Ministry during a recent meeting with student representatives included free cab rides for students who travel in groups, shutting the university’s ring road to cars during morning rush hour, and doubling the stipend of students who carpool.

Sources close to government said the focus on the university area is only one aspect in a wider reform to tackle traffic congestion nationwide.

The university at Tal-Qroqq hosts more than 10,000 students and lecturers and sits next door to Malta’s only general hospital, Mater Dei, and the San Gwann industrial estate. This makes the area an important traffic node for people hailing from all corners of the island.

Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia, a representative from the Education Ministry and a representative from fitness community platform Bulletproof held a consultation meeting with the University Student Council (KSU) recently.

Sources privy to the ongoing consultation process said an idea floated by the ministry was to close off the university ring road to cars between 6:30am and 9:30am, allowing access only to cars with three or more passengers and Blue Badge holders and cyclists.

However, this proposal is believed to have been met with scepticism since it could lead to a spillover of cars into the immediate Msida neighbourhood or the Campus Hub parking facility, which is against payment.

A representative from Bulletproof also floated the idea of doubling stipends for students willing to carpool to university but no tangible plan was presented.

A direct shuttle service to university from three central nodes in the north, south and central parts of Malta was also proposed. Sources said the system would work on the park-and-ride model, offering free transit every 15 minutes, starting from 7am until 9pm.

Other less radical proposals included the improvement of the cycle network from different localities towards university and an increase in bus frequency for the area.

Sources close to university told MaltaToday the KSU will be consulting with student organisations over the coming weeks to gauge their feedback on the proposals.

More meetings between the KSU and the ministry are also expected.

Traffic congestion remains a significant problem despite the big investment made to improve the road network over the past five years.

The latest figures from the National Statistics Office show that the stock of licensed vehicles in Malta stood at 426,720 at the end of March. Out of these, 75% were passenger cars.

Between January and March, the stock of licensed motor vehicles increased at a net average rate of 20 vehicles per day.

Curbing private car use has always been a thorny political issue in a country where people are in love with their cars. Politicians have always been reluctant to penalise car use to encourage people to use public transport instead.

Since last October, buses are free for Tal-Linja card holders with government forking out generous subsidies in a bid to encourage their use.