More than 300,000 cars on the road

Mark Anthony Debono

Apr 20th 2010, 13:21

Igalea 1st of all we are talking about land transport, your argument is senseless. And 2nd just because somebody has a yacht, does entitle you to have a yacht, does it? We are not in a Communist State.

Mark Anthony Debono

Apr 20th 2010, 13:17

Although they are not all at the same time on the road, most are parked outside. Let me ask a question, does everybody need to have a 4 seater car when these same cars are often 3/4 empty? Can we continue pumping money if space and time is being wasted, because of this perverse mentality that everybody should have a car? And employers discriminating continuously because of lack of car ownership? Is this what we want? Continuing to live in this mentality will keep us slaves for foreign fuel and materials always at the mercy of these countries. Can we learn to save? Or is it too much for our ears?

JOHN O SCERRI

Apr 20th 2010, 07:46

The title of this article is misleading.
Just because there are 300000 licenced vehicles , it does not mean they are all on the road at one time.
What should be staistically proven is a study to see how many vehicles are actually on the major road network during peak times and non peak times . This would certainly give a clear picture .

Old Bangers and old Trucks. How do some of these pass VRT ? Are they ever noticed by traffic police?

It is not in the nterest of the Govt. to restrict the importation and purchase of vehicles since it is a significant source of income .

Part exchange vehicles which are only good for scrap are today still facelifted, resold and put back on the roads.
Malta lacks a proper system for part exchange whereby cars which are not roadworthy are scrapped once and for all .

Finally - The Price of New cars is still very very high and the price of second hand Japanese cars is similar to those NEW same models bought in Italy.
Just LOOK at the adverts on Italian TV and find out for yourselves.

Jon Camilleri

Apr 19th 2010, 14:40

First of all, it would be nice to know the ratio of licensed cars vis-a-vis the people who have a driving license, because I am under the impression that there are way too many cars licensed in Malta, including a good number of cars that need to be scrapped.

In my case, my car is around 10 years old, and, in good condition (certified), however, I cannot afford to replace it. It would be nice if the government offered some incentive, taking income into consideration.

The parking problems are obvious in areas like Sliema, St. Julian's (Paceville), Bugibba, and, in places where business invest in entertainment business. Do these businesses contribute to the provision of parking services at a reasonable price (underlining reasonable)? What level of security do these parking areas offer? I know of a case where my friend's car was damaged and the administrator were not even in a position to provide a copy of the video tapes to the Police. Hence the Police were not in a position to investigate who had actually carried out the damages.

Public Transport still leaves room for improvement, imho.

Martin Cassar

Apr 19th 2010, 14:18

Is Malta poor government for rich peoples?
-More than 300,000 cars on Malt’s roads.
-Banks bonds worth Millions of Euros are being sold within few minutes, at a speed faster than the cheese cakes so far! Always presuming that bonds are bought by locals and not foreigners residing in Malta.
-The number of mobile phones outnumbers the number of population.
Governments works on factual figures and accurate data not on what the peoples complains about.
Now lets us get honest and be in either Dr. Gonzi or Minister Fenech’s shoes - Why the government should not increase the prices of fuel and electricity bills every month?
The Issue is more serious than a mobile telephone , television set or a Kit Kat bar. The whole issue is deeper than this. Should we learn from the USA financial earthquake? We are facing a system collapse. We have been living in illusion and under false luxuries which is now evaporating in slow motion. Could we sustain this luxury we have today? And if so, for how long?

Joseph Grech

Apr 19th 2010, 14:02

@Mario Sammut - May I suggest you read the article again....you seem to have gone at a complete tangent with your Comment!
What on earth are you trying to prove - that we are all living in one big, never-ending financial Utopia?
Certainly there are people who are quite well off what with the pay rises they have given themselves - or been given by others.
Bu surtelyt, you must know as well as I do, that we also have in our midst people who are having a rather miserable financial situation facing them.
May I suggest that you think and come up with something practical to address the Traffic situation?

Mark Anthony Debono

Apr 19th 2010, 13:48

And then the Maltese grumble about high fuel prices! In Denmark & Holland, government raised licences and fuel in order to get people out of their cars. There is no way we can continue in this pattern. Do people really need a pick-up truck/SUVs? Or huge engined motorcycles on a tiny rock like Malta?

Simon Swartz

Apr 19th 2010, 13:24

Let's also mention the ridiculous parking space we have.

There are only a few multi-storey parking areas which in places like Sliema and the rest would reduce traffic congestion and also clear the roads from cars since one easily finds parking.

Joe Grech

Apr 19th 2010, 12:37

No wonder we're in one Big Traffic Jam!
Are the authorities considering the ECONOMIC WASTAGE such a bad situation is causing?
At regulary intervals throughout the day, in an ever increasing number of traffic bad spots, traffic congestion is simply grounding Malta to a halt - not just on the roads but also TOURISM AND BUSINESS WISE.
Our administration will do well to tackle this problem NOW before it is too late to handle. Do the UNIONS have anything to say about this?
Does the Opposition have any recommendations to make?
In MEPA's North West Local Plan (as indeed in other Local Plans), underneath ''Transport'' one reads:
''v. encourage visitors and employees to utilize public car parks and promote the
use of the CPPS funds to introduce developer-led paying public car parks'' - Could anybody from the Administration / Mepa declare what the present situation is regarding these much talked-about CPPS funds? Have any new Parking Lots been constructed using these funds?
I am ready to bet that nobody will answer this comment to try to lift a finger about all this!

Priorities....do we believe in these or not?

adrian gatt

Apr 19th 2010, 12:34

Not a good sign at all. Unfortunately it has become a Maltese custom to own a car / cars (me included). This clearly shows the inefficiency of a good public transport system which has persisted for a long number of years. I cannot imagine a solution which would revert us back to use public transport, whatever form it will be. The government has to think hard to get us out of this.

mario camilleri

Apr 19th 2010, 11:53

How many without a VALID road licence and insurance?

Mario Sammut

Apr 19th 2010, 11:53

Well Well Well !!!!!!!! And then certain people try telling us that we are in a deep recession. It seems to me that the grumbling Maltese are so hard up that they can all afford il paqqa nowadays. Oh and by the way , try and explain to me how most restaurants are full to the rafters during weekends and please please try also explaining to me how every member of each family in Malta owns a mobile . I do not mean mummy and daddy , but all memebers of the family

M Vella

Apr 19th 2010, 11:38

we have to start scrapping bangers which pollute and are a danger on our roads.one sees lots of these in Malta, its a question how these pass our vrt test