Only on Gozo Channel

Commuters using the Gozo Channel ferries should know that ferry tickets are used when passengers/vehicles cross from Malta to Gozo. Gozitans who work daily in Malta were (and are) given the chance to buy their ticket in the morning from the Gozo terminal and use it on their way back from Malta to Gozo. This proves very convenient for those whose hired minibus reaches Ċirkewwa just in time (within seconds) before the ferry starts raising its ramp, thus leaving absolutely no time to queue and buy the ticket from the Ċirkewwa (temporary) terminal. So far, so good.

Most Gozitans used to buy two or three tickets from the Gozo terminal and use them in the following two or three days, just to save the hassle of having to queue each and every morning for the ticket. Having to cross over to Malta daily for work, it's only logical to know that you will get to use the tickets each day. To be quite honest, Gozitan commuters were all for the idea of being given special tickets available for five crossings or special passes from which credit is deducted with each crossing. After all this is nothing new. It's what the underground trains in major cities have been doing.

Now, instead of moving one step in this direction, this week we took one back. The tickets are no longer valid for three days. We can no longer buy three tickets and use them on three separate days. Tickets are now valid for only one day, and so we have to queue each and every morning for the tickets, probably having to wait for 10 minutes at 6.30 a.m., then when we arrive at the counter, realising that it's better to board the ferry because the gate is closing. How's that for logic and efficiency?

And if someone's thinking that this is an "only in Gozo" thing, please don't, because Gozitans themselves have better ideas. It might be a case of "only on Gozo Channel" - the company that sincerely thanks its customers for "choosing" its services between Malta and Gozo. Laughter is the best medicine.