Transport Minister Austin Gatt has written to Public Transport Association president Victor Spiteri to confirm in writing an agreement they reached verbally two months ago on how to move forward with regard to an EU directive on the bus service. He also revealed that just last week, the Transport Authority (ADT) recommended an increase of €81,550 per month in the subsidy to the bus service to cover the increase in fuel prices.

Those two developments, he said, led him to be surprised by the current bus strike.

Dr Gatt explained that the EU directive had allowed three options: a bus service run by the government, the issue of a tender for the operation of the bus service, or the award of a contract by direct order to a number of SMEs. An attempt had been made to award a direct order to SMEs formed by the association, but the EU viewed that as a way of going around the directive. The only option had therefore been the issue of a call for tender, and the government had committed itself that by the end of the summer the ADT would draw up its detailed requirements with regard to routes, and the type of buses required, since there was a need for the introduction of energy efficient buses. It was also agreed that these improvements would have a price which still had to be fixed.

Dr Gatt said that his letter was meant to confirm his commitment to what was agreed.