Red minibus owners say route buses have advantages denied them

Owners of red minibuses could sell their minibus and transfer their licence to third parties if Malta joined the EU, Simon Busuttil, head of the Malta-EU Information Centre, said yesterday.

It would be up to the Maltese government to decide on such transfers, he said.

Answering questions during a meeting for red minibus owners at the Best Western Les Lapins Hotel in Ta' Xbiex, Dr Busuttil said if the government were to decide to issue more licences once Malta joined the EU, citizens from other EU members states would be eligible to apply for such licences.

However, Transport Minister Censu Galea said the government would not be issuing any more licences for public transport services. Currently there are 404 minibuses, 508 buses and 200 taxis.

These quantities were established during negotiations with the EU.

The well-attended meeting, chaired by Charles Mercieca, president of the minibuses' co-operative, focused on the theme: Il-minibuses u l-EU: Jien x'jaqbilli? (Minibuses and the EU: What is in my interest?)

Asked whether the government planned to change the way minibuses were sold to third parties, Mr Galea said that the issue was not even being considered.

Most minibus owners complained that route bus owners fared much better than they did because bus owners were subsidised by the government to the tune of 75 per cent of the price when they bought a new bus.

Moreover, bus owners paid a subsidised road tax of Lm10 and did not pay any contributions to the Malta Tourism Authority while mini bus owners paid Lm58 road tax and paid a contribution to the MTA.

Minibus owners also pay 21 per cent of the registration fee when they buy a new vehicle.

Minibus owners complained that bus owners spent one day ferrying passengers on bus route trips offering a public service, and the day after doing private work (bus drivers work alternate days offering public transport).

Replying, Dr Busuttil said the EU allowed subsidies as long as the providers offered a public service. In order to keep tabs on whether subsidies were being fairly given, the government had set up a State Aid Monitoring Board.

Mr Galea explained that with regard to the subsidy given to bus drivers, the government had quantified the cost of the service provided by the bus drivers. The subsidy given, he said, was much lower than that initially asked for by the bus owners.

Dr Busuttil made it clear that any state aid approved by the EU would have to be justified.

The EU demanded that persons offering public transport services had to have an operator's licence. The licence could be held individually or collectively by a co-operative on behalf of its members.

This would be up to the members of the co-operative to decide. The operator's licence would stipulate that the holder was of good conduct, has competency in the running of the business, and the financial standing to carry out the business.

A certificate signed by an auditor would have to be presented to the office issuing the licences showing that the applicant has assets amounting to at least Lm3,600 for the first minibus and Lm2,000 for every other minibus.

This declaration will not be a bank guarantee nor a hypothec.

Mr Galea said that up till now, the government had no intention of charging a fee for this licence. The main aim behind this licence was to bar undesirable characters from manning public transport vehicles.

The minibus owners also complained that they were legally bound to insure their vehicles with the Omnibus Pool set up about 30 years ago. All the insurance companies are represented in the pool.

The owners were now challenging this arrangement saying that while the Omnibus Pool charged them Lm400 for each vehicle for third party cover, they could get a much better deal from individual insurance firms.

Dr Busuttil said that the EU would not allow such a practice as the Omnibus Pool in a liberalised market.