It is unbelievable that the Ministry for Transport should introduce new measures – such as the bus lane in Gżira – without first having the necessary data to back those measures.

If the minister does not know how many people use the buses between Sliema and The Strand, in Gżira, how did his ministry decide to dedicate one lane to buses throughout the whole day?

If Transport Malta were led by competent people, it would have first determined the number of people who use the buses between Sliema and Gżira, every hour of every working day and every hour on Saturdays and Sundays.

It is on the basis of such data that a decision should have been taken on whether to create this bus lane and at which times it should operate.

The blanket decision that was made to have it operate at all hours is proof of the incompetence of the decision maker.

Have they considered other alternatives? Have they considered a bus lane for peak hours only? Have they heard of alternate lanes, which change direction according to the flow of traffic, leaving two lanes for general traffic in the appropriate direction?

The decision to dedicate a lane to buses is not acceptable to car drivers. Cars do not hold up buses. Indeed, most of the time it is the other way round. Everybody moves along at about the same speed. Both private cars and buses get stuck in traffic.

Transport Malta should conduct a study with a view to having a traffic signal priority programme that would give buses the green light and speed up bus travel.

In the circumstances, the Ministry for Transport is proceeding blindly without the required data and, in the process, it is rendering a disservice to both bus passengers and car drivers.