The bus operator is spending an average of €46,000 per week on “spare parts”, not €80,544 as stated in Parliament last Monday, the Transport Ministry said yesterday.
Transport Minister Joe Mizzi had given the €80,544 figure in response to a Parliamentary question by Nationalist MP Toni Bezzina.
The figure raised eyebrows when it was reported in the media, with some readers of timesofmalta.com saying it seemed excessive.
The Transport Ministry has now released an amended answer to the question, stating that the average spent per week by Malta Public Transport Services was, in fact, €46,000.
Malta Public Transport Services was set up by the government to temporarily run the bus network from January 1, after former operator Arriva agreed to terminate its 10-year contract following more than two years of service problems and heavy losses.
Asked for an explanation for the widely different answers to the parliamentary question, a ministry spokeswoman said: “This was a case of a genuine mistake where Transport Malta has provided us with the wrong information.”
Asked if the minister’s answer referred solely to the cost of procuring spare parts, the spokeswoman said: “The expenditure on spare parts forms part of the engineering and maintenance budget and is an integral cost component of any bus operation.”
She added: “Malta Public Transport is committed to keeping all expenditure as low as reasonably possible, while keeping safety as a top priority.”
This was a case of a genuine mistake where Transport Malta has provided us with the wrong information
A question on whether spare parts were procured through tenders or direct orders went unanswered.
Industry sources said “spare parts” can be a subjective term.
If the minister meant “all maintenance costs” including procuring spare parts, labour, recovery, the purchase of major units and workshop maintenance costs then, while expensive, €80,544 per week would not make the operation unsustainable.
Based on the age of the buses, they should cost approximately €11,000 each per annum to maintain, including all maintenance needs mentioned above, sources estimated. That was an optimum figure based on the age profile of the buses inherited from Arriva.
With a fleet of 215 operational vehicles, this would equate to €45,000 per week for Malta Public Transport Services.
The vehicles have been subjected to a lot of wear and tear in Malta, sources noted, but even €60,000 a week should be more than sufficient for the current fleet, inclusive of spare parts, labour, recovery, the purchase of major units and workshop maintenance costs.
Spending by Malta Public Transport Services has been under scrutiny lately, after the minister said in Parliament it was paying €35,472 a day to hire 40 vehicles from the Unscheduled Bus Service.
This newspaper has received quotations from individual members of the UBS – an association of private bus companies and garages – that equate to between €12,000 and €20,000 less per week than what the State operator was paying.
Malta Public Transport Services has said it is in negotiations with the UBS to lower the rate.
The process for submitting expressions of interest in running the new bus service is open until April 7.
Scottish company McGill’s withdrew its interest last week, citing a lack of information from the government and concerns about excessive State interference.