Park and ride: Free or fee?

If motorists are charged to use the park and ride transport into Valletta, another cheap parking option needs to be introduced to ensure the capital is accessible to everyone, former Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett believes.

Transport Malta has said that the possibility of charging park and ride users for the ride into Valletta was on the agenda of ongoing negotiations with Arriva Consortium, the preferred bidder for the new public transport operation.

The park and ride system, which shuttles people between the car park in Blata l-Bajda and the city, has been free of charge since it was introduced in 2006, when Mr Mugliett was the minister responsible.

He explained that, at the time, the intention was to give commuters a choice of accessibility and parking options that included free parking, traditional car parks manned by parkers, the private MCP car park, public transport, electric cabs and the controlled vehicle access system through which people paid to park in the city.

“Whether payments should be introduced should not be seen only from the sustainability of the park and ride, but on the effects it would have on accessibility to Valletta. In my opinion, other cheap parking options would have to be made (available) to Valletta visitors if a charge on park and ride usage is introduced,” he said, adding that a fee could also have a negative impact on commercial life in Valletta.

Would people use the service if they had to pay for it? Several people who used it yesterday said that if the charge was “reasonable”, they would have no problem paying for it.

Daniela Cachia, 27, works in Valletta and parks in Blata l-Bajda every day. A charge will not stop her from using the system: “I’d prefer it if the park and ride remained free but if there is no alternative I would probably have to keep parking here despite the expense. I hope it won’t cost much.”

She added that catching a bus was not an option for her since she needed her car to run daily errands.

Antonella Zammit, 29, and Marthese Buttigieg, 40, said a charge should not make much of a difference since they rarely entered Valletta.

They were happy with the service offered through the park and ride and both agreed that the price would have to be “reasonable”.

Simon Caruana, 41, agreed with them adding that the service was convenient.

“If paying a fee means improving the service by, for example, having the van stop in various streets in Valletta, I’d be happy to pay,” he said.

He referred to the €1.40 fee that the government had considered charging in 2006.

The government then decided that the scheme should be provided free of charge while the operation would be financed through income derived from CVA charges.

“If someone spends a whole day in Valletta, it’s worth it since parking in a commercial car park would definitely cost more,” he said.

But 65-year-old Manual Mallia disagreed with the introduction of “yet another fee”, irrespective of the amount charged. “How much more can I afford on a pension? We’ve reached a point when we are being asked to pay for everything.

“If it were going into the government’s coffers, at least we’ll see some form of result. But this is money pumped into private pockets,” he said.

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