About five or six months ago, I wrote a long letter to both main political parties about Malta’s gargantuan traffic problem. To date, not only have I not received an answer from either party but I have not got an acknowledgement either.
I think I made some very valid points in my letter. Basically I suggested that either party, when in government, could increase income tax by, say, four or five per cent, make the service offered by all public buses free of charge, increase the number of buses as necessary, pay all drivers and other public bus employees from public funds, pay for all other running expenses of the service and, finally, give the company running the service, say, €2 million a year, because, obviously, they are not working for charity.
I think it would work – with some adjustments here and there.
Some 40 or 50 years ago I was in Bologna and at that time, all public transport there was free of charge. I also know that, at present, pensioners in Scotland travel for free on trains and some other services. So the thing can work.
The result of such a change would solve Malta’s gigantic traffic problem overnight. I remember when for three days over the Christmas period, Arriva, which at that time was running public transport, offered a free bus service, and for those three days the buses were jam-packed. It was obvious that people were leaving their cars at home and travelling by bus.
I have no doubt that at least half the cars on the roads in Malta and Gozo would disappear overnight in such a scenario.