Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545062
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 MAY 2026 NEWS Clifton Grima /grimaclifton @clifton.grima +356 9947 7961 clifton@cliftongrima.com Kandidat għall-Elezzjoni Ġenerali f'isem il-Partit Laburista fuq id-9 u l-10 Distrett FLIMKIEN Momentum says Malta's transport crisis should not become electoral spectacle POLITICAL party Momen- tum has criticised both the La- bour and the Nationalist parties for treating Malta's traffic and transport crisis as "an electoral spectacle". The party said traffic was a na- tional emergency that required long-term planning. Momentum said the PN's recent proposal to build a metro within five years was detached from Mal- ta's "administrative, financial and infrastructural realities". "After decades in which both major parties failed to seriously tackle transport reform, suddenly promising a metro in five years is not credible governance, it is fan- tasy politics," the party said, ques- tioning whether geological and archaeological studies had been carried out. Momentum also criticised the government over recent an- nouncements that the Transport Ministry would begin geological core testing just weeks before the election campaign. "This is another example of knee-jerk politics designed for headlines rather than solutions," the party said. "If the government truly believed in long-term trans- port planning, these studies would have been undertaken years ago as part of a coherent national strate- gy, not rushed out at the last min- ute before voters go to the polls." The party argued that both major parties had spent years in- creasing Malta's dependence on private cars through uncontrolled development, weak spatial plan- ning and road-building policies that generated more traffic. Momentum contrasted this with what it de- scribed as "realistic and structured" transport pro- posals pre- sented during a recent press conference by engineer Marco Cremona. Among the measures pro- posed was a shared cab system intended to reduce the number of private vehicles on the roads. The party's proposals also in- clude increased investment in reliable and frequent public trans- port, improved bus shelters, the removal of excessive bus stops, an expanded bus lane network, and improved access to passenger information, including whether buses are full. Momentum called for safer walking and cycling in- frastructure, as well as better inte- gration be- tween land- use planning and transport policy. "Malta does not need grandiose promises announced every election cycle," the party said. "It needs competent plan- ning, realistic targets, and the political courage to reduce car de- pendency in a serious and consist- ent manner." Mark Camilleri Gambin, a Mo- mentum candidate on the 3 and 11 districts, said Malta's transport problems would not be solved through "five-year miracle pro- jects" or last-minute studies an- nounced for political effect, but through "steady, evidence-based reforms implemented with trans- parency and national consensus". On Friday, the PN released its plans for an underground met- ro line linking Pembroke to the airport and passing beneath the Sliema, Gżira and Qormi con- urbation. The almost 12km line would have eight stations and the PN said it would complete the project within a legislature. Just before the election was called, the government unveiled its transport plan that would span over 15 years and include a light rail line running from St Paul's Bay to the airport. The line would run underground, above ground and even overhead. KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt ELECTION 2026