Damage sustained by vehicles due to road surface defects can now be addressed by Transport Malta thanks to an agreement reached with the Ombudsman.

Transport Malta has created an internal complaints-handling mechanism for the assessment of claims related to arterial and distributor roads following a number of meetings held with Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino over the past year.

The internal committee can review claims related to those roads that fall within the remit of Transport Malta but not those under the responsibility of local councils.

For the latter, complaints are to be addressed to the council and can then be referred to the Ombudsman’s office if the grievance is not resolved.

The Ombudsman welcomed the decision by Transport Malta saying it was “laudable”. He was also pleased that a number of the recommendations he had made were taken up.

These include time limits for the processing of complaints and the need for the authority to provide details to complainants when their claim is refused.

Complaints can then be referred to the Ombudsman’s office if the grievance is not resolved

But what was not taken up, he noted, was his recommendation for thetransport authority to set up an alternative dispute resolution mechanism completely independent from Transport Malta, in addition to the internal mechanism to handle complaints.

The Ombudsman said the authority should not be involved in the re-examination of a decision of the internal committee since this would “mislead the public”.

But Transport Malta said it was premature to set up an independent board and it was confident the committee would provide a transparent and credible process to all parties concerned, according to the Ombudsman.

Dr Said Pullicino said his office would remain available to those making complaints with Transport Malta if their grievance was not addressed.

Last month, Transport Malta was ordered to pay €5,215 for the damage caused to a car when it overturned after hitting a deep pothole on Salina Road, Naxxar, four years ago.

Magistrate Francesco Depasquale found that Transport Malta was responsible for the maintenance of the road – which he concluded was classified as a distributor road since it linked two arterial roads.

He said the authority, together with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, “abdicated” from its responsibility to have an updated list of roads outlining which were considered arterial or distributor and, therefore, who was responsible for their upkeep.