The first decision of the public transport task force, to give buses priority during rush hour, still needs to be “piloted” and its impact analysed, according to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.
On Wednesday, the government said the public transport task force, chaired by the Prime Minister, had decided that buses will be given priority between 6.30 and 9 a.m.
“During the first task force meeting, we instructed Transport Malta, Arriva and police experts to analyse this proposal, pilot it, see its impact and implement it to get an efficient public transport system and to facilitate traffic flow,” Dr Gonzi said.
He added that he hoped to have these reports by next week.
“We need to take a wise decision. The scope is to incentivise people to use more public transport buses, however... the bus service has to be punctual,” he said.
Just like other countries, Malta has its own peak times. Other countries have opted for more radical solutions, including letting cars out on the roads at particular times according to their registration number.
“We should not opt for these solutions and we chose to explore this possibility,” he went on.
“The task force’s aim is to address particular solutions across the board to provide a good public transport service and, while doing so, we also hope to enhance traffic flow.”
He also said that the current infrastructural work added to the traffic problems.
Council of Europe Street, Luqa, which has been closed for some three months, is a main artery for traffic hailing from the south, so “temporary solutions” have to be found because of this. The bus priority solution should be taken in this context, Dr Gonzi said.
During a television interview on the Net TV programme Iswed fuq l-Abjad on Wednesday, Transport Minister Austin Gatt said the police will be deployed to wave buses through and an Armed Forces of Malta aircraft will be circling overhead every day to monitor traffic flow and identify bus routes with problems.
Earlier, the government had issued a statement saying the police, the army, Transport Malta and Arriva have been ordered to draw up an action plan within a week to see how to implement the bus priority decision and monitor progress.
The action plan will also propose and analyse the possibility of having more bus priority lanes apart from other measures.
This proposal did not go down well with some private car owners who said giving priority to buses would lengthen their time to reach their destination during peak hours.
The task force includes, among others, Dr Gatt, Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici and Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said who is responsible for consumers, fair competition and local councils.
It will meet again next week.