It is funny, in the ironic sense, that Malta had to reach a stage where it has more vehicles per capita than practically anywhere on earth, traffic jams at all times of day or night, and unacceptably high fuel emissions before a minister in a government that has been in power for the past 20 years points out it is "high time" that there is alternative means of transport.

This also makes it difficult to assess what was behind Transport Minister Austin Gatt's headline-grabbing statement. Was he seeking to patronise the public by telling them something they have known for years? Or trying to get into the papers for something he says rather than does? Or firing the opening salvo in an attempt to prepare the way for an unpopular measure or two? Time will tell.

But perhaps we should cut the minister some slack. The portfolio is a new one for him and there are several problems which, in keeping with his character, he would want to tackle head-on.

The list is indeed lengthy: Too many roads are still in a disastrous state, so much so that this is a source of national embarrassment, and they take too long to be relaid. Essential routes are closed off at will, at times without warning. The emissions testing by the Malta Transport Authority has turned out to be woefully ineffective.

Buses that should have been replaced are still belching along. And large trucks are allowed to obstruct traffic flows and destroy newly-built roads pretty much all the time.

All these issues require Dr Gatt's immediate attention. But what is important is that this transport minister does not make the errors - perhaps due in part to a lack of government commitment - that have been made before: attempting to cosmetically treat the effects of the problem without addressing the causes.

This mistake was classically made when it came to instilling parking discipline. Instead of ensuring there were more places to park - by building car parks and insisting that new blocks of flats have underground garages - all the emphasis was placed on enforcement.

This has led to some ridiculous situations. While income for wardens has improved, the parking situation has got worse. Mission accomplished, perhaps. But the wrong one.

It is for this reason that it would not make sense at this juncture to restrict private car use in any way. The current alternatives - buses are slow, overloaded and inefficient, while taxis are prohibitively expensive - are just not good enough and it would be unfair to penalise motorists for the government's startling failure to foresee a situation that many people have been predicting for years.

The first step Dr Gatt must take, therefore, is to improve the road network. Concurrently, as part of a wider transport strategy, he should launch a serious study - better late than never - into efficient forms of public transport, particularly an underground or monorail system, which people would want to use as an alternative to their cars.

This is unlikely to ever be viable in the financial sense, but in all probability there is little option. One only has to look at a number of congested cities - let's face it, that is what this country is - around the world to realise how vital these measures have been. It is high time we have them too.