Ministry welcomes bus owners' statement, but cannot discuss new contract

The Transport Ministry said this afternoon that it welcomed a statement issued this morning by the bus owners’ association which had indicated it agreed with the transport reform proposed by the government.

The ministry said it looked forward to further talks on the reform process with the Public Transport Association, but it could not discuss a contract for the future operation of the bus service – as requested by the association – because that was not allowed under EU law.

The ministry noted that the association was disassociating itself from the behaviour of some of its members who during a public meeting on the reform yesterday had been skeptical about the changes. Instead, the association had said it was ready to work with the government on any reform which would bring about a better service for commuters.

The ministry said that ever since the reform consultation process started in July, the government had noted advice which the association had made, and it would continue to hear what the association had to say.

However the government could not hold direct talks with the association on a new public transport contract since EU law did not allow this kind of contract to be awarded by direct order to a private operator without a call for offers.

The government, therefore, preferred to conclude, on the basis of today’s statement, that the association was also considering an internal reform so that it, or some of its members, could bid competitively to offer transport services.

As long as this happened in terms of the conditions of a transport setup which met the people’s expectations, the government would welcome the intentions of these people, given their long experience in the transport sector.

See also

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20081206/local/bus-owners-call-for-talks-on-reform-contract