Government makes final offer to bus owners

(Adds PTA's call to bus owners)

The government today wrote to the individual 323 bus owners asking them to decide whether they were accepting a 10-year job guarantee and a lump sum for their buses and licences before the tenderers submit their bids.

Discussions were under way between the Transport Ministry and the Public Transport Association but these talks were inconclusive.

With a looming deadline by when the government has to give the prospective bidders the last information before they begin preparing their bids, the government had no option but to write to the bud owners directly informing them of the negotiations which have been taking place for the past four months.

The government gave the owners until Wednesday to take their decisions. By Friday at midday, the government has to provide prospective bidders with the last information.

Transport Minister Austin Gatt explained that there were 508 buses. Of these, 131 were Euro III compliant and could be sold to the winning bidder. The rest will either be scrapped or placed in a transport museum if they were classified as vintage.

He said the government was guaranteeing a full-time job for each bus driver employed, for a period of 10 years, with a minimum wage of €9,486 a year.

The government was also offering owners of the old buses €98,000 for their licence and their vehicle. The owners of low floor buses were being offered €118,000. The Public Transport Association had been asking for €177,000 for the former and €200,000 for the latter.

If the offer is not taken up, then bus owners will be losing the guarantee of a 10-year job for the bus drivers and will also be losing out on the amount of compensation because the vehicle would not be purchased by the government.

Dr Gatt explained that he wrote to the bus owners against the wish of the PTA which did not want the government to deal directly with the individual bus owners. However, time was pressing and the government could not wait any longer.

Bus owners wishing to accept this offer are being asked to go to the former Sea Malta offices in Marsa with their logbook and ID card between Monday and Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued this evening, the association called a meeting for its member bus owners on Monday.