The other day I struck up a conversation with a friend of mine, a Scotsman residing in our village, the topic being the traffic problem in our small country.
He pointed out an excellent way in which nother country solved a similar problem. The authorities, if I remember correctly in either Sweden or Norway, ran an experiment of providing free transport during the morning rush hour. Over here, in my opinion, the ideal hour would be 6.30am to 7.30pm.
The end result in this country was:
1) a decrease in traffic jams;
2) a drop in harmful exhaust emissions;
3) a considerable saving by commuters over a 12-month period;
4) a saving in parking fees resulting in more parking spaces;
5) a decrease in traffic accidents;
6) a decline in travel time.
The experiment was proven to be a complete success and the system is now working all year round, Mondays to Fridays.
I would be most grateful if the Minister for Transport would instruct the director of Transport Malta to convene a meeting to discuss the possibility of giving this experiment a trial.
Without doubt one of the ideal members of the board should be the former Assistant Police Commissioner who was in charge of traffic and is now a consultant with Transport Malta.