A tax credit of up to €150 is being offered to parents whose children attend Church and private schools and use school or scheduled transport in a bid to get them to ditch their private cars for the school run.

“The fact many parents drop their children off at school themselves contributes to the real traffic problem,” Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said.

The government is also aiming to minimise traffic congestion by promoting car pooling.

In an initiative which brings together Transport Malta and a group of young people, a new website and a mobile app will facilitate car sharing by creating a database of safe drivers and commuters who are matched up according to routes and times.

Bus lanes will be opened to those cars carrying three or more passengers. In the first stage of the initiative, the focus will be centred on schools and parents.

The government will also be investing in a new system, dubbed the Intelligent Traffic Management System.

Through strategically placed cameras and messages displayed on screens, drivers will be guided to avoid traffic congestion.

The system will also be able to adjust traffic lights automatically according to the volume of traffic. Congestion can also arise due to vehicles or equipment used for construction, such as cranes and scaffolding, which may cause lengthy road closures.

To address this issue, the government will revise the rates paid on cranes and other equipment used for construction to discourage lengthy road blockages.

Tower cranes up to 10 metres squared will pay a rate of €10 per day while those larger than 10 metres squared will pay €15 a day.

These revisions will come into effect on January 1 and the implementation will be discussed with local councils.