University students are adamant they will continue driving to campus, despite heavy traffic, because public transport is “simply not an alternative”.

“I drive here every day and as long as public transport remains the way it is I won’t stop. I know the situation is bad but waiting on a bus stop to me is worse,” second year physics student James Micallef said.

The University of Malta opened its doors to students yesterday, marking the beginning of a new academic year and the return of heavy traffic to much of the island.

More than 11,700 students will sit for lectures at the campus this year, 250 more than last year.

The car parks lining the Msida campus were full well before 9am but that did not stop dozens of students from trying their luck, drifting through the crammed lots in search of an elusive parking spot.

Why don’t you catch the bus to your office instead?

“I have to wake up very, very early to find somewhere to park. I have to be here by around 7.30am even if I haven’t got any morning lectures,” law student Matthew Charles Zammit said. In the University’s bustling quadrangle, students scoff when asked if they would catch a bus instead of driving.

“Why don’t you catch the bus to your office instead? It’s not such a fun idea, is it?” said one student, who asked not to be named.

Not all students were averse to the idea of using buses. The terminal just outside the university’s main gate saw a steady flow of students trickle into the campus, seemingly less frustrated than their driving counterparts.

However, on closer inspection, it seems many of the bus users did so for one particular reason.

“I don’t have a car so I have to catch two buses to get here. In my case, public transport is the only alternative,” Jessica Vella said as she stepped off a bus.

Many students dismissed other forms of transport, such as carpooling, arguing that conflicting lecture schedules meant it was easier to get to class than to get back home. So what is the solution?

Student Karl Attard said it was time to head back to the drawing board. “Politics aside, I think we should start discussing real solutions. We need to sit around a table and think long term for the generations to come,” he said, his sentiments shared by many at the campus.