Applications to open new VRT stations have been put on hold as the island has reached its “limit”.

Transport Malta officials said the authority was not processing any new applications and was seeking to obtain an exemption from the European Commission in order to retain the existing restriction of 40 VRT stations.

Under its services directive, the EU tries to dismantle commercial barriers that stand in the way of the functioning of the European single market.

It does, however, permit member states to obtain exemptions in certain sectors, including the services of VRT garages.

According to the directive, “limits should be fixed according to population or of a geographical distance between providers”.

Transport Malta says there is no place for more than the existing 40 stations and these cater for the island’s needs, so no more licences should be issued.

“We are full up,” a senior TM official said. “As in the case of pharmacies, there are laws that limit the number of VRT stations according to the size of the population, territorial area and other considerations and we would like to stick to this policy.”

The issue came to the fore a few weeks ago when the owner of J. Zammit Ltd, of Żebbuġ, filed a judicial protest against Transport Malta for holding its application to open a VRT station.

The owner, who already runs an auto dealership, is holding the authority responsible for damages his business was suffering because of its refusal to issue the necessary documents.