Getting stuck round the bend
The Public Transport Association (PTA) is right - smaller buses would be much more suitable for Malta than those currently in use. The observation was prompted by suggestions that the government was looking into the frightening possibility of...
The Public Transport Association (PTA) is right - smaller buses would be much more suitable for Malta than those currently in use. The observation was prompted by suggestions that the government was looking into the frightening possibility of introducing 18-metre long articulated buses - known as "bendy buses".
Malta's public transport policy, at least in so far as the buses put in use are concerned, started going round the bend from the time of the Labour government of the 1970s and 1980s (I formed part of it on the last leg in office). Then, second-hand London buses were imported.
Those vehicles are fine for those streets of London, where nobody takes you by the hand, as the song goes. They were totally inappropriate for the Maltese Islands. We used to typify the conclusion that small is beautiful, but have been striving mightily to eradicate beauty and replace it with hideousness.
The old Maltese buses, mostly built in Malta, were quaint and had their distinct characteristics. They were painted in different colours, which made them stand out and light up our streets and roads. Someone ignored that striking effect and focused instead on the reason for the colours. That was put down to the days when far too many people were illiterate.
Bus colours according to the destination made life less difficult for users than having to peer at destination numbers without comprehending them. That social consideration aside, colour according to destination had an economic cost - it reduced flexibility in deploying the buses in the fleet. Bringing in large buses had its own costs.
They were ignored, in their turn, by the Nationalist governments which took over from Labour in 1987. They put into effect a scheme to replace Malta's sturdy old buses with imported low-floor buses. As the PTA's president reminded one and all in this newspaper on Monday (April 9), the 11-metre super low-floor buses - of which there are now around 140 puffing away on our roads - were too big for village centres, leading to manoeuvring difficulties.
He might have added that they were also unsightly and not at all suited to Malta's smallness. The government simply aped private operators in the tourist sector who imported massive coaches that stand out in loud contradiction to the small-is-beautiful conclusion. The government also followed the bad example of private car owners who delight in going for high power, ignoring the fact that such power cannot be used for more than thirty seconds at a stretch on our best roads, let alone on those in lesser categories.
That private predilection has also translated - as environmentalist Edward Mallia has observed - into the use of four-wheel drive vehicles that are suited to desert or rough mountain terrain, but not at all to Malta and Gozo.
One might also mention low-floor buses cost in terms of valuable foreign currency. That was another consideration that went begging when the decision was taken. That particular cost is easily measurable.
But I find the costlier still the damage done to the image of our small islands through populating them with enormous vehicles, rather than relating transport size to the physical size and topography of our land.
The PTA president, Victor Spiteri, told Cynthia Busuttil of The Times that the association was surprised that the government was (now also) looking at "bendy buses". That, the president revealed, was not in line with what the association had been discussing with the transport authorities. In fact, he observed, recent discussions had pointed towards the possibility of going for smaller buses to operate in village and town centres.
The official side came out with the reply that the "bendy buses", if imported, would not be intended to go round village and town bends. The Times reported that a spokesman for the Roads Ministry said that the 'bendy buses' would be used on two routes centred round the Grand Harbour are to serve as a high-volume and high-frequency provision to complement the other public transport services.
The ultimate aim, the spokesman went on, was to make public transport as efficient as private transport. There loom the huge coaches used by the tourist industry, while ignoring the flexible mini buses that also form part of private transport, but were ignored by the spokesman.
The official reply did not answer the more telling observation made by Mr Spiteri. He told The Times that many of the bigger public buses were half empty on certain trips, and maintained that improving the service did not mean bigger buses, but more frequent trips.
That is a very sensible observation. One might add to it that improving the service also requires more links than exist at present, though these have been on the increase.
According to the Malta Transport Authority (MTA) a Bus Rapid Transport study had identified the need for an upgrade of the public transport system to make it faster and more efficient.
The "rapid" and "faster" thrusts make little sense in islands our size where "rapid" and "faster" driving lops off no more than a minute or two from the time it takes to arrive, while simultaneously adding to the dangers on the road. Nor was it blindingly clear from the official remarks that greater efficiency necessitates larger vehicles.
What is very clear is that someone appears to believe that the massive outlay splashed out on replacing the old buses with low-floor giant substitutes was not enough. The Transport Minister and his officials do not seem to be exploring the possibility, suggested by the PTA president, that the replacements were inadequate, possibly precisely because of their large size.
Officialdom wrapped their case in EU paper. They said that last year the EU approved a directive that could force Malta to liberalise its transport system. Without offering a seamless link the ministry spokesman added that the "radical" reform of the public transport system being discussed by the ministry, the ADT and the PTA would have to take the parameters imposed by these EU regulations into account.
Does that imply that the EU has gone round the bend and is making large and bendy vehicles mandatory? What the EU does stress is competition. The ministry should not wait to be "forced" to bring that about.
Competition should be based on market realities, not on bent thinking which does not stand up to critical appraisal. It should also leave it as far as possible to private competitors to analyse whether to invest, rather than starting from the premise that the State will continue to fork out funding, as if the public finances of Malta were infinite.
Further public spending should be kept to a minimum. What is definitely required is a more sensible policy regarding sensible size, environmental friendliness and other parameters.
Malta's public transport policy, at least in so far as the buses put in use are concerned, started going round the bend from the time of the Labour government of the 1970s and 1980s (I formed part of it on the last leg in office). Then, second-hand London buses were imported.
Those vehicles are fine for those streets of London, where nobody takes you by the hand, as the song goes. They were totally inappropriate for the Maltese Islands. We used to typify the conclusion that small is beautiful, but have been striving mightily to eradicate beauty and replace it with hideousness.
The old Maltese buses, mostly built in Malta, were quaint and had their distinct characteristics. They were painted in different colours, which made them stand out and light up our streets and roads. Someone ignored that striking effect and focused instead on the reason for the colours. That was put down to the days when far too many people were illiterate.
Bus colours according to the destination made life less difficult for users than having to peer at destination numbers without comprehending them. That social consideration aside, colour according to destination had an economic cost - it reduced flexibility in deploying the buses in the fleet. Bringing in large buses had its own costs.
They were ignored, in their turn, by the Nationalist governments which took over from Labour in 1987. They put into effect a scheme to replace Malta's sturdy old buses with imported low-floor buses. As the PTA's president reminded one and all in this newspaper on Monday (April 9), the 11-metre super low-floor buses - of which there are now around 140 puffing away on our roads - were too big for village centres, leading to manoeuvring difficulties.
He might have added that they were also unsightly and not at all suited to Malta's smallness. The government simply aped private operators in the tourist sector who imported massive coaches that stand out in loud contradiction to the small-is-beautiful conclusion. The government also followed the bad example of private car owners who delight in going for high power, ignoring the fact that such power cannot be used for more than thirty seconds at a stretch on our best roads, let alone on those in lesser categories.
That private predilection has also translated - as environmentalist Edward Mallia has observed - into the use of four-wheel drive vehicles that are suited to desert or rough mountain terrain, but not at all to Malta and Gozo.
One might also mention low-floor buses cost in terms of valuable foreign currency. That was another consideration that went begging when the decision was taken. That particular cost is easily measurable.
But I find the costlier still the damage done to the image of our small islands through populating them with enormous vehicles, rather than relating transport size to the physical size and topography of our land.
The PTA president, Victor Spiteri, told Cynthia Busuttil of The Times that the association was surprised that the government was (now also) looking at "bendy buses". That, the president revealed, was not in line with what the association had been discussing with the transport authorities. In fact, he observed, recent discussions had pointed towards the possibility of going for smaller buses to operate in village and town centres.
The official side came out with the reply that the "bendy buses", if imported, would not be intended to go round village and town bends. The Times reported that a spokesman for the Roads Ministry said that the 'bendy buses' would be used on two routes centred round the Grand Harbour are to serve as a high-volume and high-frequency provision to complement the other public transport services.
The ultimate aim, the spokesman went on, was to make public transport as efficient as private transport. There loom the huge coaches used by the tourist industry, while ignoring the flexible mini buses that also form part of private transport, but were ignored by the spokesman.
The official reply did not answer the more telling observation made by Mr Spiteri. He told The Times that many of the bigger public buses were half empty on certain trips, and maintained that improving the service did not mean bigger buses, but more frequent trips.
That is a very sensible observation. One might add to it that improving the service also requires more links than exist at present, though these have been on the increase.
According to the Malta Transport Authority (MTA) a Bus Rapid Transport study had identified the need for an upgrade of the public transport system to make it faster and more efficient.
The "rapid" and "faster" thrusts make little sense in islands our size where "rapid" and "faster" driving lops off no more than a minute or two from the time it takes to arrive, while simultaneously adding to the dangers on the road. Nor was it blindingly clear from the official remarks that greater efficiency necessitates larger vehicles.
What is very clear is that someone appears to believe that the massive outlay splashed out on replacing the old buses with low-floor giant substitutes was not enough. The Transport Minister and his officials do not seem to be exploring the possibility, suggested by the PTA president, that the replacements were inadequate, possibly precisely because of their large size.
Officialdom wrapped their case in EU paper. They said that last year the EU approved a directive that could force Malta to liberalise its transport system. Without offering a seamless link the ministry spokesman added that the "radical" reform of the public transport system being discussed by the ministry, the ADT and the PTA would have to take the parameters imposed by these EU regulations into account.
Does that imply that the EU has gone round the bend and is making large and bendy vehicles mandatory? What the EU does stress is competition. The ministry should not wait to be "forced" to bring that about.
Competition should be based on market realities, not on bent thinking which does not stand up to critical appraisal. It should also leave it as far as possible to private competitors to analyse whether to invest, rather than starting from the premise that the State will continue to fork out funding, as if the public finances of Malta were infinite.
Further public spending should be kept to a minimum. What is definitely required is a more sensible policy regarding sensible size, environmental friendliness and other parameters.