Offering more mass transport options could actually make road congestion worse, a university seminar heard yesterday.

Providing more means to move people in large groups on the road would not always lead to an equivalent reduction in the numbers making use of private cars, according to engineer Simon Mizzi.

“This can be counterproductive, since it will be reinforcing the notion that the vehicle is the best means of transport,” he said during a seminar at the University of Malta yesterday on ways to achieve a zero-carbon society.

While using mass transport could become a sustainable solution at a later stage, it could also be the cause of more congestion. Increasing mass transport options does not necessarily mean there will be a one-to-one reduction in the number of private cars on the road, he explained.

This can be counterproductive, since it reinforces the notion that the vehicle is the best means of transport

Instead, a system which interacts with the road infrastructure but works independently of it is more likely to bring about effective change. This could include ferry services and a railway system which is both underground and above the ground.

Dr Mizzi also dismissed the option of introducing a congestion tax, saying that in reality motorists would keep on paying until they identified a “clear and useful alternative”.

This was the case in London, where congestion charges were introduced in 2003, but car usage has still increased since then.

Earlier this week, the Times of Malta reported that the possibility of imposing a congestion tax to limit emissions and ease traffic was floated in a master plan published by the transport watchdog.

In a reaction, Transport Malta said the suggestion was merely included for demonstration purposes to examine the impact such a measure would have if it were to be introduced.

The transport authority said that the suggested measure was among hundreds of other measures in the National Transport Plan 2025 and would be introduced post-2025 if considered.