Locally-built bus prototype launched

Thirty-seven bus owners have not yet ordered new buses after signing an agreement for subsidies with the government as the deadline by the government was approaching expiry.

Transport and Communications Minister Censu Galea said yesterday that owners who had signed the agreement with the government in 1995 to change their old buses to new low-floor ones have until the end of the year to book a new vehicle, .

About 110 out of the 147 owners who had signed the subsidy agreement with the government have booked a new low-floor bus although only nine are so far on the road.

Last May, bus owners had already been given a cut-off date which was the end of June.

Owners who had signed the agreement with the government will each get a subsidy of Lm32,000 to make the changeover from the current buses, most of which are museum pieces. The new buses cost over Lm45,000.

The minister was speaking at Industrial Motors Ltd in Blata l-Bajda during the launch of a bus prototype approved by the British Vehicle Certification Agency and the Malta Transport Authority yesterday.

Built by the Maltese company Scarniff Coachbuilders Ltd of Luqa, the prototype has a MAN chassis imported from Germany by Industrial Motors Ltd.

Industrial Motors Ltd managing director Jeffrey J. Mizzi said Industrial Motors had been involved in public transport for the past 80 years.

MAN are one of the leading truck-making firms in Germany.

The 45-passenger bus is equipped with automatic transmission, a Euro 3 engine with low emissions in line with European standards, brakes and brakeretarder that assists drivers' braking ability.

The bus's overall length is 10.6 metres, which assists drivers to manoeuvre in narrow roads. The maximum length permissible according to specifications laid by the government is 11 metres.

Another important feature is a kneeling facility that permits the driver to lower the side of the bus on the passenger entry side to make it easier for elderly folk, persons with disability and others with push chairs to board the vehicle.

The bus has sliding windows, an emergency door, room for one wheelchair and is equipped with a ticketing machine.

Ticketing machines will shortly be installed in all buses and in the main bus termini.

Mr Galea said the new buses would hopefully encourage more people to use the public transport service and halt the decline in public transport use.

"However, it's no use having new buses unless drivers treat passengers correctly. The bus service depends on patronage by the public.

"Hopefully, the new vehicles and improved customer relations would halt the downward trend in the number of people who use the buses," he said.

The Public Transport Association is not exactly pleased with the details of this development. The PTA, which represents bus owners, has been protesting with the government saying it expected all 430 owners to get the subsidy to buy new buses.

When asked, Victor Spiteri, PTA chairman, who was present for the launch said: "There are 508 buses and if the government is expecting them to be changed to new ones, then it should also subsidise those owners who had not signed the 1995 agreement which they could have adhered to on a voluntary basis.

"Moreover, the government ought to bear in mind that when in 2005 buses would have to pass stringent EU emission tests, even those new low-floor buses equipped with a Euro 2 engine would not pass the test.

"Changing a Euro 2 engine to a Euro 3 engine would cost about Lm8,000. The EU regularly introduces reduced levels of pollution which would entail upgrading bus engines every so many years," Mr Spiteri said.

According to figures published by the Malta Transport Authority recently, the number of people using buses continued to decline.

Revenue from ticket sales between September 2001 and last August reached Lm5.08 million compared to Lm5.31 million in 2000.