The first changes to the islands’ bus route network will be introduced in Gozo on Sunday.
Six routes on the sister island will be tweaked or extended with the addition of 34 new bus stops, as the reform of the public transport service is gradually rolled out.
Four new buses will also join Gozo’s fleet, increasing the frequency on eight routes and bringing the total number of buses on the island to 14, Transport Minister Joe Mizzi said yesterday.
Transport Malta will be distributing information leaflets to all households in Gozo as part of an information campaign to highlight these changes.
Addressing a news conference at the Victoria bus terminus, Mr Mizzi said the route changes would mean Gozo buses travelling 96,000 more kilometres every year.
Gozo buses will travel an additional 96,000 kilometres every year
He noted that the changes had been decided following broad consultation with the public and local councils.
Mr Mizzi also referred to discounts that will start to be given to persons with a disability, saying blue and yellow badge holders would only pay €2 for a week’s ticket instead of the standard price of €6.50. Unlike the public transport reform of 2011, which was attempted overnight and was widely regarded as a fiasco, the new routes are being launched gradually over a number of months.
The next changes will begin next month when Autobuses de Leon, which took over the bus service in January, will launch its fully-fledged service.
These will include a new tariff structure encouraging commuters to make use of electronic bus cards instead of paper tickets, as well as increased frequency on popular routes.