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MaltaToday 3 November 2024

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2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 NOVEMBER 2024 NEWS MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Government unveils yet another traffic plan to overhaul transport sector OFF-PEAK service provision, re- vised bus routes, increased park- ing in public spaces, and better coordination on road works were among a number of ideas and pro- posals unveiled by government aimed at easing traffic congestion. In a lengthy press conference on Saturday, transport minister Chris Bonett detailed government's proposals which are based on six pillars. These are; a 24-hour econ- omy, incentives to limit the use of vehicles, parking, public trans- port, road works coordination, and sustainable mobility. A 24-hour economy Bonett repeated previous state- ments as he noted that it no longer makes sense for a number of ser- vices to be delivered at the same time. That's why, he proposed, government would lead by exam- ple. Bonett said that services such as waste collection, cleansing, landscaping and driving licence lessons should not be carried out during peak hours. The same reasoning works for the private sector, the minister noted, as he pledged to have frank discussions with the private sec- tor on how businesses can make deliveries during off-peak hours. By collaborating with the private sector, government hopes to min- imise the 60,000 commercial vehi- cles during peak hours. Bonett said that government would also be studying the fea- sibility and implementation of cargo services to Gozo from the Freeport, Kordin, and Valletta, to prevent traffic flow towards Ċirkewwa. Limiting the use of passenger vehicles Bonett also repeated the idea of introducing incentives for people to surrender their driving licence and convincing youths to refrain from obtaining their licences. When pressed on what the in- centives would include, he stated that government has ideas, but will wait for a public discussion to unfold. He added that the finance ministry has already allocated €5 million to such incentives. These measures are among a few initiatives aimed at shifting cultur- al attitudes towards car ownership and promoting more sustainable transport methods. Solving parking problems When it comes to solving prob- lems related to parking, Bonett proposed the creation of more park-and-ride facilities outside of certain localities, especially those prone to congestion and parking shortages. He also proposed increasing the number of public spaces that can be used as parking facilities such as schools, noting that this measure is already being adopted in localities such as Qawra and Marsaskala. "This measure has proven effective and should be implemented across the board," he said. Additionally, government is al- so considering expressions of in- terests so that the private sector can come forward with technolo- gy-based solutions to improve the parking situation in localities. Public transport overhaul To improve the efficiency of the public transport system, the transport minister announced a revision of the current bus routes, explaining that the last time these were revised in 2014, Malta was a completely different country. This measure, he added, would take place in the medium term. Short-term proposals include in- troducing bus routes to industrial estates, circular bus routes within big localities, and new bus routes that have fewer stops. There are also plans for direct buses connecting park-and-ride locations, like Ta' Qali, to key nodes, including Mater Dei Hos- pital, the University, and ferry ter- minals. A new roadwork coordination committee To improve coordination on roadworks, Bonett proposed the creation of a new committee made up of the relevant govern- ment entities. He explained that the committee's role would be to create new standards and proce- dures for the entities to follow. Here the minister appealed to contractors to acknowledge the fact that when they carry out roadworks, they should treat res- idents with respect, and acknowl- edge that the surrounding com- munities should not be treated as an inconvenience to the works. Timeline The transport minister also ex- plained the timeline in which the proposals are to be implemented. By the end of this year, govern- ment is set to conclude its consul- tation with stakeholders, as deci- sions on the proposed measures are to be taken within the first quarter of 2025. The minister said that all meas- ures should be fully implemented by the third quarter of 2026, but assured that measures which can be implemented before that date would be finished as soon as pos- sible. Minister doesn't believe the number of vehicles is the main problem Before explaining government's ideas to solve traffic and parking problems, the transport minister went over a number of statistics that capture the current situation on the islands. Among the statis- tics, Bonett noted that car owner- ship in Malta currently shows no signs of decreasing. The minister was pressed on the fact that the majority of the announced proposals do not dis- incentivize car ownership. He was asked whether reducing the num- ber of cars on the islands was one of government's targets. Bonett said that one must not only consider the number of cars in Malta, noting that the use of cars is the main issue. "You can have a million cars in Malta, but there won't be a traffic issue if they're not being used," he ex- plained. The minister said he believes that the biggest problem with re- gards to traffic isn't the number of cars in the country, but the fact that they're being used at the same time. Looking ahead to the up- coming consultations on the pro- posals, Bonett said that he would not like the discussion to focus solely on the number of cars. Current bus routes are to be revised

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