Friday, 18th July 2008
Transport strike lifted
Hit the road... Buses started leaving City Gate, Valletta, where they had been parked in close proximity since Wednesday, as soon as it was announced that the Transport Federation had lifted the strike yesterday evening. Police officers began removing concrete barriers that had been placed at the exit onto the Floriana War Memorial yesterday afternoon blocking the way out to buses, probably in a bid to stop them from clogging the roads again. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi.
The public transport strike was called off yesterday after four days of chaos on the roads, inconvenience to many, including tourists, and a few ugly incidents.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said at about 6.30 p.m. that the Transport Federation had e-mailed the government saying it agreed to stop the action with the buses resuming the service as usual this morning. Transport Minister Austin Gatt said both the federation and the government accepted that:
• EU rules had to be followed with regard to buses and the distribution of routes.
• Liberalisation had to follow discussion and consultation. (Dr Gatt said consultations would start this morning at 9, continuing throughout the summer with the government making its decisions by the end of summer.)
• The present stock of 404 mini-buses with more than 14 seats would be increased only after consultation.
• The two sides would go to arbitration over the decision by the government to deduct €60,000 daily from the subsidy to the bus owners for the duration of the strike. The federation has argued that, in terms of an existing agreement, the government cannot deduct so much.
• A fresh tender would be issued for transport services from the Park and Ride to Valletta.
Dr Gatt said that an issue that should never have been created was now solved, the road to liberalisation was strengthened and the country would be moving towards it at a faster pace.
Public transport had to be more defined with a national system that would safeguard a number of principles:
• That routes would be determined by the people's needs.
• That the present fleet would be replaced with more modern energy-saving buses, most of them smaller and with a different built.
• There had to be a professional administration.
• The transport system could not depend only on buses but had to be part of an integrated system that would also include ferries, electric taxis and specific tram lines.
Dr Gatt said that following the agreement reached with the Motor Hearses Association, he called Transport Federation president Victor Spiteri who confirmed that the association had left the federation. Mr Spiteri informed the minister to expect a number of proposals that could help solve the situation.
Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco expressed satisfaction that the situation had been solved and reason had prevailed.
The strike, he said, had given tourism a big blow and caused huge inconveniences not just for locals but also for tourists, so much so that several operators had considered stopping their services to Malta and a reduction in air bookings was registered.
Moreover, there had been negative comments in the press about the situation. Certain cruise lines had also been considering stopping their operations to Malta and Dr de Marco expressed concern that the effect of the strike would be felt more in future.
Malta, he said, now had to work to regain what it had lost.
Dr Gonzi said that, following the breakthrough, the country could now concentrate on the radical transformation of the sector and a leap in quality.
The government had always insisted that a solution would only be found round the table and that taking to the streets would only damage the country. He hoped this would serve as an important lesson.
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Comments
Deja Vu !!
A new transport system should be build over a span of a decade if necessary. It should not necessarily be underground but can be a train system which runs on bridges and where possible through rural areas like RER in Paris or S-Bahn in Berlin. This may cross Malta diagonally from north to south through one line supported by some intersections across and supplemented for example by a tram system.
I'm not an expert in transport but there are experts who can design an ideal transport system for Malta. Let's not encourage the mentality that because it is expensive then we should not do it. There are ways for financing it over a period of years. The EU is one of the sources. One can also encourage the private sector to invest in it with an assurance to run it for a long number of years that would make it feasible for the investor. An initial professional study should be the way forward.
Where there is a will there is a way.
Austin should be commended for his perseverance in insisting that might is not right and that things have to be done the right way, Mario should be commended for his hands-on approach to tackling the problems being faced by the tourism sector, and Dr Gonzi should be commended for building a team of players who may truly bring forward our country to the levels we consumers deserve.
As to all the negative comments which people, from time to time, chose to level against all the above, may I remind you that, the only way forward in any democratic country is by imposing rules and enforcing them whilst discussing with the stakeholders.
Though many have tried to label the government as being a bulldozer, we all have to admit that, considering the lawlessness of many of us, as our dear bus drivers very clearly showed us, the only way forward to ensure that things get done is to take the approach Austin took - thats the only way one gets things done in Malta!!
I now expect a public apology from Victor Spiteri et all.
This is appeal to government and I'm sure most Maltese agree with me.
Now that liberalisation is no longer an issue let's start an overhaul of the transport service. Let's think long term of a modern transport system with less pollution and more efficiency such as a metro system, or a tram or a kind of S-bahn or RER. Let's leave to our children another state of the art. We are so small and what is done in cities much bigger than us can also be done here. As members of the EU we could use EU funds to build such a system. It's a shame that in today's day and age, travelling from Marsascala to Cirkewwa by public transport takes more than 2 hours when in a normal city in Europe the same destination can be covered in 45 minutes with public transport.
If we want to have less private cars on the road and more use of public transport then we need efficient means which make it possible to arrive at our destination at least within the same time we take when we use our private car.
Minister Gatt, take this suggestion on board please.
But at long last, some sort of a new Schengen agreement has been reached for the provision of freedom of movement between Maltese towns and villages. For this superb achievement, people are expected to celebrate but not in the streets because otherwise everthing will be back to chaos and disorder. They can celebrate at home and spend some time playing the Maltese version of the new Monopoly Board game.
However, for the ordinary law-abiding citizen who really cares and eventually is unable to sleep, a funeral service is going to be held to accompany this decomposing body of democracy. Definetely, this time there won't be an industrial action for the funeral is going to be carried out in dignity and respect.
The damage caused has been great. Suggest that the financial penalty issued on bus and mini-van drivers be passed on to the Police Force to get paid for the extra hours they had to work in the scorcing sun because of the illegal so called strike. Thus expences due tio the illegal strike will not be paid out of my taxes.
Third parties such as building contractors, Air Malta, MIA, MTA, should insist for payment of buisness lost because of the illegal strike.