Motorists travelling into Valletta may have to pay to use park and ride transport into the capital, a service that has been free ever since it was introduced four years ago.

“The matter of possibly charging users of the park and ride system is on the agenda of ongoing negotiations with the preferred bidder for the new public transport operation,” a spokesman for Transport Malta said.

The government is in the final stages of concluding the procurement process with Arriva Consortium, the preferred bidder for the 10-year public transport contract.

The new public transport service would include three park and ride sites, including the one in Blata l-Bajda, being integrated into the new bus network, the spokesman said.

Valletta mayor Alexei Dingli said he was not aware of the possibility of introducing a park and ride fee and, thus, he preferred not to comment.

The park and ride service into Valletta started in November 2006 as part of the government’s plans to cut traffic congestion in the capital. As a result of the so-called controlled vehicle access (CVA) system, several streets, like Merchants and St John, were pedestrianised and paved. Under CVA, vehicles going into Valletta pay a fee according to their duration inside the capital.

The government initially planned to run the park and ride scheme through a private operator that would charge minimal fees, of about €1.40 per trip, for those who parked their car in Blata l-Bajda and caught the shuttle minivan into Valletta. But it then decided that the scheme should be provided free of charge and the operation would be financed through income derived from CVA charges.

Figures released last November showed that the TM paid CVA Technology Ltd €150,000 per month for the operation of the system. The government raked in €2.1 million from the CVA system between May 2007 and the end of August 2009.