"Unbearable and unacceptable" amounts of traffic were damaging Maltese business' profitability and competitiveness, the Malta Chamber of SMEs - GRTU said today.
In a statement, the union chastised the government for its failure to act, saying "justifications related to infrastructure and .... long-term possibilities have long expired," and that its proposals had "time and time again been left on the shelf."
It laid out a series of quick-fixes which it believed would help alleviate the existing situation:
- Free transport for all schoolchildren, organised transport for all government employees and incentives for private firms to run collective transport schemes for their workers
- Emergency teams placed close to key traffic points, to ensure minimum disruption following traffic collisions
- Better use of intelligent transport systems, such as traffic lights and screens
- Round-the-clock works on major projects such as the Kappara junction "without further excuses"
- Planning priority for car park projects
- More widespread adoption of flexitime and work-from-home initiatives within the public sector
The GRTU said that it would be taking up the matter "directly" with the Prime Minister.