A revamped bus service seems to have done little to cut the number of private cars on the road, figures out yesterday showed.

There was a total of 244,704 registered private cars in June, an increase of almost 9,000 vehicles since the introduction of the Arriva bus service in July, 2011.

The figures dispel any doubts as to whether the roads are congested. The total number of registered vehicles in June stood at 318,720, an increase of 10,000 vehicles over the same period two years ago.

During the same period, the number of route buses dropped to 303 from 760 as a result of the public transport reform.

According to the National Statistics Office, the increase in private vehicles slowed down throughout 2012 but shot up dramatically in the first half of this year.

The NSO attributed the increase in the second quarter over the previous three months to a reduction in registration tax for cars with euro 5 and 6 engines, signalling a strong preference for private cars.

The statistics show that more second-hand new cars were registered than brand new vehicles. While newly licensed used vehicles amounted to 2,537, newly licensed new vehicles totalled 1,977.