Snug tightly in my aisle seat on my way to Madonna di Campiglio courtesy of YTC Travel, I came across an e-mail with a pdf of a recent study conducted by the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development of the University of Malta.
According to this scientific study, there were 592 private vehicles for every population of 1,000 people in 2012.
In fact, NSO figures quote that the total number of vehicles in Malta is roughly 330,000 for an entire population of 423,000. That’s an awful lot of cars for our 316 square metres of land and some 3,000 kilometres of what we call roads.
Furthermore, the study reveals that 9.5 per cent of the road network is heavily congested, compared to the average 1.7 per cent in the EU, resulting in a total of 52 hours spent in traffic per year per commuter. Now that's a lot of hours behind the wheel of our cars.
The study also indicates that fewer commuters use public transport despite the improvements and investments in the sector, although the minister was quoted recently as saying that numbers are on the increase again thanks to the Spanish buses.
In fact, whereas 32 per cent of the population opted to use public transport in 1989, by 2010 only 15 per cent made use of public transport. I believe even less now, although that is not not just attributable to quality of service, I would imagine.
This is a worrying factor. The result is too many cars on our roads with a big strain on our network reducing our roads to an utter mess, such as the bun I’ve just been offered on the plane.
Monorails, underground and other modes of public transport are all good and welcome. However, our dear private car would remain our preferred mode of transport, at least in the forseeable future
About a year ago, I drove into a pothole on my way to work and ended up with an €800 bill. I wouldn't be surprised if that hole is still there, probably even bigger and deeper, with a few others joining in after each rainfall.
In Milan, I started my three-hour mini-coach trip to Campiglio, envious of the smooth surface of the Milan-Brescia highway… and this is Italy.
The roads in Malta have reached depths lower than any submarine could sink to, such as in Swieqi where I live. How can we possibly promote our country as a five-star destination when our roads don't even reach third world standards.
It seems the government has finally woken up to this reality and to the hardship we have had to endure for a very long time. In fact, studies are being conducted on the involvement of the private sector in road maintenance, with the promise that no tolls will be introduced.
Tolls or no tolls, give me smooth roads and an efficient road infrastructure. I have a right to that.
motoring@timesofmalta.com