As long as ownership of a private car remains affordable and its use persists, we can expect no end to the clogged streets, and it is getting worse by the day.

The solution is extremely simple - raise the costs of private car ownership (cost of vehicles, increase the cost of licences and of fuel, etc). There is no two ways of going about this.

I am one who was able to purchase a pretty decent second-hand car - a powerful German diesel family car, loaded with extras. It cost me less to purchase and to run than a brand new family hatchback (petrol of course, as the diesel versions are on average around €1.5k more expensive).

Servicing at a reputable mechanic is even cheaper than at the agent. It also proved to be the perfect car in traffic (due to start-stop technology, so it even saves me more fuel). I pay low insurance (since this is based on the market value of the car, which is nearly half that of an equivalent new one from the agent), and since it is now based on emissions, my yearly licence costs me less than that of my second car (which family doesn’t have a second car anyway?)  - a small family hatchback purchased before the new registration scheme came into force.

So why should I ditch my car?

There are no parking meters in the streets, and there is very little enforcement or policing in most, apart from the usual hot spots at the usual times. So why not park on a double yellow? It’s only for a couple of minutes anyway (read an hour).

There is no incentive for me to catch public transport either. Why should I when I know that it’ll take me even longer to get to my destination? Has anybody lost his job for arriving late? Of course not, because clogged traffic is a ‘reality’ that our employers have to live with.

Parents who cannot take their children at 8am to school? No problem. The breakfast club opens at 7am, so just wake the children at 6am and we’re sorted. Cannot pick them up at 2pm? No problem - just leave your children at club 3 to 16 and pass for them later at 3pm, 4pm, or even later.

Attempts have been made to solve the various issues in our streets, but the source of all problems remains - too many cars. By raising the motoring costs, one is compelled to think twice before purchasing a car and choosing to use it whenever required. One will then have to consider seriously using public transport or sending the children with school transport (the former could possibly be more punctual because it can actually navigate the streets which have less cars, and the latter drivers might not need to pick up the children at stupid hours in the morning).

Parents might actually be able to spend more time in the mornings with their children because they don’t need to leave ‘two hours’ before they need to be at work.

When we travel abroad, especially when visiting busy cities, we generally take for granted the use of public transport to take us to our destinations. So we look up the timetables, we plan our routes, decide whether to catch the bus, train or tube, and so on. Why? Because that is the norm.

By raising the motoring costs, one is compelled to think twice before purchasing a car and choosing to use it whenever required

Families, students, employees, employers, poor, rich, middle class... everyone uses public transport. There is lots of traffic in the bigger cities of course, but there is generally far more enforcement in the streets, with well- manned supervision and policing and traffic that is moving continuously.

But in Malta, the overriding assumption is the use of the personal car, at all costs. The consequences are there for all to see.

The incumbent government pledged a road map was in place to solve the traffic problems. It said the truth, because it did have a map - a map of the Maltese roads, which included the rebuilding of the Coast Road (set off under the previous administration and completed under the current one) and the flyover at Msida (also started under the previous administration and which hopefully will be completed soon).

There were also the amendments in lanes, as happened in Paola and Msida and other roads. However, while these may have solved the issue on the spot, the overall problem has simply shifted to the next bottle neck. These interventions are not effective, as can be seen in the mornings and after work in the evenings.

The solution is very simple. It is beneficial to families, to the general public, to the business community, and most importantly to the environment. Unfortunately it comes at a very big cost to the incumbent - i.e. loss of votes - unless the government educates the public to appreciate the fact that fuel is, in reality, a very expensive and harmful commodity that we need to learn to do without.

But this is not the direction this administration (or any other future administration, as I see it) is willing to take. When a government harps about reducing electricity bills (which were among the lowest in the EU anyway) across the board without first educating the public to reduce consumption in the first place, then there is no hope.

The interconnector (another project started by the previous administration) is of course a great idea, which enabled the government to reduce its production costs, and more importantly, the impact on the environment. So why build anotherpower station to cope with greater demand? Why should there be greater demand in the first place?

The government should not simply appease greater demand, but promote judicious consumption.

Progress is not the provision of a new power station to cope with the increasing demands of the manufacturing industry, or those of the thousands of apartments being built, or to cope with the demands of high-rise buildings.

Progress is providing the education and the awareness to the people, the developers, the investors, to encourage the development of self-sustaining businesses and facilities; reusing, remodelling or building new residential buildings that may not need to be connected to the grid; envisioning and constructing mega developments that have a zero-carbon footprint. Why do we need these anyway? Is it because we have a God-given right to develop our property indiscriminately?

I genuinely want to believe that our representatives in Parliament are seriously thinking about ways to solve the traffic problem. But the reality around me makes me doubt as to whether the right considerations and decisions are being made.

The solution must lead to the end result - that of having less private cars on the road. The provision of adequate public transport serving the needs of those who will do away with their cars is crucial.

Joseph Cachia is an architect and motoring enthusiast.