Despite having the shortest distances in the EU, the Maltese are among the highest users of personal cars, according to the latest EU-wide survey.

A Eurobarometer survey released this week shows that 70 per cent of Maltese respondents said they used their cars on a daily basis to travel around.

Only 21 per cent use public transport for their daily commutes and seven per cent said they usually walked.

The transport scenario within the EU is quite different.

While the percentage of those using public transport is in the same level as Malta – an average of 19 per cent – those using their car account for 54 per cent.

The only other member states with a higher use of private cars for daily travels than Malta were Ireland (73 per cent) and Slovenia (71 per cent).

Walking is preferred by 14 per cent – twice as much as Malta – and eight per cent said they commuted by bicycle, something practically non-existent on the island.

The reasons that many Maltese do not use public transport vary but in most cases, for 42 per cent of respondents, the problem is related to punctuality and the lack of routes covering their needs. About 35 per cent named frequency as another crucial aspect that had to improve for them to consider using public transport.

Even though both the previous and present government have been keen to keep prices under check – the present Transport Minister pledged that prices would remain unchanged when Autobuses de Leon takes over the bus network early next year – the fare does not seem to be a primary consideration for Maltese commuters. In fact, only nine per cent said cheaper bus fares would encourage them to use public transport.

For the majority, better timetables, frequency, punctuality and accessibility are much more important ingredients than how much they must pay for a typical bus ride.

The survey also dealt with problems effecting road transport.

For the overwhelming majority of Maltese respondents – 82 per cent – road congestion has become their biggest daily headache. While this is also the case in the rest of the EU, the situation does not seem to be as bad as in Malta.

According to the survey, on average, only 60 per cent of EU respondents deemed congestion a real problem.

At the same time, 59 per cent of Europeans said road maintenance had to be given priority.

Almost six out of 10 Maltese respondents – 59 per cent – said they had not travelled abroad in the 12-month period preceding the survey. Eight per cent said they had travelled abroad more than four times.