Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1513303
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 DECEMBER 2023 7 INTERVIEW The following are excerpts from the interview. The full interview can be found on maltatoday.com.mt as well as our Facebook and Spotify pages. So far, the government has dangled the carrot by pro- viding free public trans- port… I disagree. We have also offered parents of school age children the option to use free school transport but only 35% use it. I would like to see this percentage grow to 60%, 70% and 80%; it would make a big difference during the rush hour if more children use school trans- port… the Civil Service has led the way with incentives for people to work from home… We plan to in- vest €35 million in the coming years to create [dedicated routes] for cyclists and pedestrians… Motorists would argue you will be investing money in cycling routes that no one will use. Every day, I receive contrasting and diametrically opposed mes- sages - cycling enthusiasts tell me not enough is being done, while others urge me to remove cycling lanes to allow cars to pass freely. The country needs to move for- ward and I have to find a just bal- ance between the differing opin- ions… But we are also investing in maritime transport… [next year] we will be experimenting with making sea transport free for Tal-Linja card users. This will encourage people to use sea transport to get around the island. It will cost money but I believe it is a wise investment. If you want the bus to be efficient on the road, you have to remove on-street parking to create dedicat- ed bus lanes. You can also introduce parking metres to create a disincentive for people to use their private car. Is government con- sidering introducing such measures in certain areas? There are different measures that can be introduced to discourage people from using their car…. we will be introducing more timed parking zones across the coun- try… it serves to discourage people from using their car and consider using free public transport instead if they are going to spend time in a zone where they can only park for a maximum of two hours in the same spot… next year we will also be issuing a call for those in- terested in providing parking lots, ideally on the periphery so that we can remove cars from our village cores. Has the metro project been abandoned? Was it just a pre-electoral gimmick? The government had opted for a mass public transport system and engaged Arup to study the crea- tion of a metro. Arup carried out a technical and geological study and found that the project is doable. The consultants also estimated the overall cost at €6 billion without outlining the financing models to make this happen. My ministry was exploring the different economic models to finance the project. In a post-COVID world prices of certain things shot up and the €6 billion sum ballooned substantially… at present, the world financial cli- mate does not make sense for the government to continue looking at this project. This is not the right time to go for a project that would cost €8 billion or more… What motivated your dras- tic decision to stop rental e-scooters from March next year when you previously had championed them as an alternative means of transport? We are happy with those who own an e-scooter (around 5% of the e-scooters on the road) because they were careful not to infringe road safety rules. But hundreds of contraventions were issued to rental e-scooters for infringe- ments that endangered people's safety… driving on arterial roads and through tunnels; three people on one scooter, excessive speed… this was a bigger headache than the more visible inconvenience caused by badly parked scooters… To top it all, operators were con- testing each and every fine and this irked government; it was an insult to government, the country and those who used e-scooters. Operators should have turned onto those who rented e-scooters and recouped the fines from errant us- ers… but they refused… on 1 March, rental e-scooters will stop operat- ing and we will provide incentives to those who want to buy their own personal scooter instead. On land reclamation what will government present to the Planning Authority next year? Will it be one project; several projects; projects for a public pur- pose? Real estate is not part of the plans. We are looking at projects that target industry, others that create space that families can enjoy, and others that are a mix of the two… the zones are already known… the two studies carried out in the past identified among others the coast- al area off Xgħajra and the sea off Qalet Marku in Baħar iħ-ħagħaq and another location in Gozo… there are six locations in all and we have to see how ambitious we will be as a government… PHOTOS: JAMES BIANCHI / MALTA TODAY