The government has just concluded a €2.4 million deal with a UK company to lease 45 buses for a year as part of Malta’s public transport system.
The Sunday Times of Malta is informed that the deal, arranged directly with the UK firm without a call for tenders, angered potential bidders for the service.
An expression of interest issued for the public transport concession closes tomorrow.
Sources close to potential bidders, which include the Unscheduled Bus Service, told this newspaper that this deal on the eve of the privatisation of the public transport system was “unacceptable” as it would burden winners of the concession with substantial added costs.
“How can the government come up with such an idea that will definitely have a major financial impact on those who win the bid? The most logical thing was to wait for the new operator before taking such decisions,” the sources said.
Confirming the deal yesterday, a government spokeswoman told The Sunday Times of Malta that the lease was necessary to meet demand which is expected to increase, particularly in summer.
While insisting the deal will not affect the current lease of private UBS coaches, which are replacing some of the bendy buses removed from the roads, the government insisted that the lease of 45 brand new, air-conditioned buses is necessary to meet summer demand.
The most logical thing was to wait for the new operator before taking such decisions
The government is already hiring a number of buses from the UBS for around €40,000 a day.
“There are 17 buses that the company is currently operating temporarily that are not fitted with air conditioning, and are therefore not suitable for the summer months,” the spokeswoman said.
“Furthermore, most sub-contracted buses are not low-floor and are not EURO V, and are resulting in a number of complaints particularly when it comes to accessibility,” she said.
The spokeswoman added that this deal would also save money.
“Savings will be at an average of €7,500 a month per bus after imputing all the operational costs such as labour, fuel and maintenance. This has the potential of translating into an estimated saving of €1.6 million between the peak months of June and October,” she said.
The spokeswoman said that with the proposed one-year lease, the buses would be available to be used by the new operator who will then be able to decide whether to extend the lease once the buses are in Malta, buy the buses or return them to the UK.
The public transport system has been operated by the government through a fully-owned company called Malta Transport Services Ltd since the beginning of this year.