The government subsidy for the operation of public transport is expected to increase substantially, the government is admitting.

“It is quite clear that the €10 million in subsidies given to Arriva were not enough. The Opposition has said the subsidy will need to increase to some €45 million.

“I don’t want to say how much will be needed but it will definitely have to rise,” Transport Minister Joe Mizzi told Times of Malta.

The Maltese public, like their European counterparts, will have to pay for an efficient public transport service

When public transport was run by Arriva, it had a contract granting it €10 million in annual subsidies, an amount that was supposed to go down over the contract period.

Following the departure of Arriva just two years into the contract, the government is evaluating offers from three prospective bus operators.

Times of Malta is informed that the three bidders are claiming more than €30 million in subsidies to be able to take over the service.

Asked to confirm if the government would have to provide between €30 and €40 million per year, Mr Mizzi did not wish to divulge any details but admitted subsidies would have to increase substantially.

“We had already agreed that the subsidy given to Arriva was not enough, plus the elimination of differentiated fares between locals and non-residents will cost us another €5.5 million.

“Over and above this we need to see how much we have to fork out for additional routes,” Mr Mizzi said.

He also indicated that, although it was not the government’s intention to raise bus fares, they may have to be revised.

However, preferential fares for the elderly and students should not go up, he added.

“The Maltese public, like their European counterparts, will have to pay for an efficient public transport service,” he said.

Mr Mizzi insisted it did not make sense to have a bad service even if subsidies were low.

“What’s important is to have value for money,” he argued.

Asked to justify the massive losses currently experienced by the State company running the service, Mr Mizzi said Arriva’s losses had been higher.

Malta Transport Services, which took over from Arriva in the beginning of this year, is registering a loss of €2.5 million a month, with the government footing the bill.

Bus losses expected to jump in summer

These losses are expected to increase in the coming months as Malta Transport Services has just entered into a direct deal with a UK company to lease some 50 additional buses to be used in the peak tourist season.

Although the government has not given details of this direct order, the deal is expected to cost €2.4 million, on top of hiring additional drivers and paying for fuel and maintenance costs.