Recently Coop Services Ltd, the co-operative which manages the local red minibus service, launched its latest venture - mobile advertising - at the Radisson SAS Baypoint Resort.

In his speech, Transport Minister Censu Galea acknowledged that Coop Services Ltd was the first to come up with this concept. The minister underlined the importance of images on vehicles and how they can motivate road safety. The minister expressed his faith in its new services.

Coop Services Ltd chairman Charles Mercieca said that the company will continuously restructure and diversify its operations in order to meet future challenges. Mr Mercieca said that minibus advertising resulted from a search of maximisation of use of the minibus as a means of income without increasing the passenger fare.

He also mentioned other new services, such as road assistance service, which to-date is offered to its co-members but is on-demand by the general public. He also referred to the co-operative branching out into a new specialised market by purchasing five lifters used in the transport of the disabled and the elderly.

Mr Mercieca said that although the co-operative had recently kept a low profile, its Website and new corporate identity are a proof of its professionalism. "We know where we stand, we know where we are heading," Mr Mercieca said.