Ride an electric bus

Albert Tolner (Park And Ride A Bus, February 27) seems unaware of the original facts connected with the Park and Ride.

1. Use of the facility was not intended to be free; a combined parking and bus charge was supposed to be levied.

2. The "ride" was intended to be on 25-passenger electric buses, of a type used in the centres of Rome and Florence.

3. The top level of the park was to have a 20kW photovoltaic array, to provide a sizeable fraction of the energy used by the buses.

4. The Park was to have adequate electronic noticeboards with information on free places left, etc.

5. The first route, actually tried by an electric bus brought over on a car-free day, was to Castille, past Hastings gardens, down to South Street and into Old Bakery; then up St John Street, across to Merchants Street and out again past Castille.

6. The tender had already been awarded; but it was challenged in the Appeals Tribunal. With the challenge still unresolved, a gaggle of ministers held a press conference to announce the imminent opening of the Park and Ride, incorporating free parking, minibus ride to Freedom Square and other delights.

7. Finally conversion of old buses by what Mr Tolner calls "the university engineering department" would shed no lustre on "Malta's engineering capabilities". We have progressed since the age of the dinosaurs.