There’s nothing like a bicycle to inflame passions in Malta. Decades of pro-car transport policies have turned us into car addicts and relegated public transport and the bicycle to a limbo in which they remain.
At the same time, Transport Malta remains bicycle-illiterate and seemingly stuck in a state of denial, with a reluctance to recognise the worth of the bicycle and failure to encourage bicycle use, possibly because of puzzlement over how to approach doing so.
Mention of cycling in the press always elicits fierce debate on timesofmalta.com. Until now, the lines of debate have been cleanly delineated into pro- and anti-bicycle factions. This is, of course, representative of Malta’s polarised attitude to the bicycle – which motorists mostly regard as an unwelcome intruder on the road.
The only adjective that can be used to describe the reaction of many readers to Busuttil’s (historic?) bicycle ride to work on car free day is ‘hilarious’.
It seemed to have infuriated a lot of people, especially party stalwarts who were caught unawares by Busuttil’s clever stunt. The 260-odd comments on timesofmalta.com were overwhelmingly howls of derision and mostly politically driven.
Only a few commentators approved of the gesture. It seems we are still too comfortable in our cars to stick our necks out. Fewer than half a dozen people expressed outright approval; otherwise positive comments did not get past a hint of sneaking approval.
We obviously remain too attached to our car and so are afraid to rock the boat by giving an unequivocal thumbs up to sharing the road with bikes.
Has the bicycle has now come of age in Malta and become a political tool? Probably.
Congratulations to Simon Busuttil.