Operators with five or more Y-plate vehicles require a commercial garage, Transport Malta announces

Transport Malta (TM) has announced new regulations related to Y-plate vehicles which focus on the garaging element of the vehicles in question.

The main changes to regulations are aimed at operators who have five or more vehicles in their fleet, as these operators will be required to keep garage their vehicles in a public service garage (commercial garage). The operators in question will need to provide a declaration from an architect that confirms the address and site plan.

With these regulations, all Y-plate operators are required to have garage facilities, however, only operators with five or more vehicles are required to make use of a commercial garage.

MaltaToday has extensively reported on TM's lax enforcement when it comes to Y-plate vehicles being parked in public spaces, despite the authority knowing about the problem.

TM announced that the signed and stamped architect's declaration together with the site plan, is a requirement for
every operator, regardless of the number of vehicles in their fleet.

When it comes to off-street parking, operators must also provide proof that the parking in question is available exclusively for their registered vehicles. Here, they will also be obliged to submit a report from a warranted architect. 

Should an operator register additional vehicles in their fleet, they must ensure that there is enough space in their garage facilities to accommodate the new vehicles.

The new regulations have already came into effect on Thursday. 

TM said that operators have 12 months from the commencement date to abide by the regulations if they hold a valid operator licence or an application for the issuance of a licence is still pending.

The authority said that applications, including those that weren't renewed in the days before the publication of these revisions, will be processed quickly by the Authority.