The price of indolence

In response to a matter-of-fact parliamentary question, Transport Minister Censu Galea disclosed that there were 260,389 licensed vehicles in Malta at the end of September. Of these, 44,893 were commercial vehicles.

Out of the remaining 215,496 licensed private vehicles, 58,610 (27 per cent) have been on the road for 11 years or more, and 11,719 are more than 31 years old (another five per cent).

A total of 53,739 private vehicles have been on the road for varying periods between six and 10 years, while 41,916 were imported as new during the past six years.

The attentive reader will make an interesting deduction from the latter figure: during the past several years the media were reporting that car imports added up to an average 10,000 per annum. It is now clear that the bulk of these imports consisted of second-hand cars.

The situation in the public transport sector is much worse. In fact, it is astonishingly bad.

Out of a total of 1,129 buses, coaches and minibuses, no less than 238 (21 per cent) are more than 41 years old. A further 445 (39.4 per cent) are between 21 and 40 years old - which means that just over 60 per cent of these vehicles have been in service for more than 21 years.

Is there any European country in the Mediterranean with such a high percentage of decrepit vehicles in the public transport service?

How does Malta rank, in this respect, in the league of Third World countries?

Granted that the public transport service is privately owned, it has, nevertheless, been regulated and otherwise controlled by the central administration for many years and by a Public Transport Authority since the late '80s.

Their indolence and their laissez faire approach has now come to light. Their sustained lack of initiative has now become a major impediment to Malta's efforts to establish itself as a modern, up-market, international tourist centre.

All this apart, the prevailing situation gives rise to many questions, some more important than others and some calling for urgent attention in the EU context.

What is the degree of air and other pollution to the environment caused by smoke emission by so many ambulant museum pieces? And what is the human cost?

How many fatal and serious accidents have been caused by cars manifestly not roadworthy?

Who are the public officials responsible for allowing buses that are more than 40 years old to operate in the public transport service and what are their personal liabilities if and when serious accidents happen?

Are the 238 buses which are over 41 years old submitted to a credible VRT test? So far as priorities go, isn't the VRT system most needed to safeguard the life and limb of the hundreds of thousands of fare-paying passengers who use the public transport service?

What is the cost to the nation to import spare parts for the thousands of old cars whose make has been out of production for so many years?

What is the cost to the insurers (and the insured) arising from damages and repairs to obsolete cars still on the road?

In Malta, the number of car thefts is on the high side. Considering that many stolen vehicles vanish into thin air, never to be traced, are these being stolen for purposes of cannibalisation to keep more old cars on the road?

Isn't it high time that this multi-faceted problem be tackled with urgency and determination, and that no one in political or administrative authority be allowed to shirk his or her duty?

There are far more disillusioned voters who would appreciate a clean environment, free of noxious car emissions, than polluters, and thousands more users of public transport than drivers and owners of 40-year-old buses on the road. Why are politicians incapable of doing their sums?

When indolence is compounded by sustained dereliction of duty, the point is bound to be reached, sooner or later, when something has to give.