Increases in the number of vehicles and commuters crossing between Malta and Gozo were registered in the fourth quarter.

In a statement this morning, the National Statistics Office said there was also an increase in the number of trips.

It said 1,021,615 commuters crossed between the two islands up by 13.4 per cent when compared to the corresponding period in 2012.

This was partly due to the Free Gozo Weekend scheme in November and the Live Crib Village at Għajnsielem.

The highest number of commuters was recorded in October - 389,513, or 38.1 per cent of the total for the quarter.

The number of vehicles carried by scheduled vessels advanced by 15.5 per cent, totalling 287,872.

The number of trips in the period stood at 4,772, an increase of 3.5 per cent over the corresponding period in 2012. The majority of trips took place in November - 1,598 or 33.5 per cent of total trips for the quarter.

On an annual basis, 2013 saw increases in the number of vehicles, commuters and trips between Malta and Gozo.

Overall, the number of trips went up by 115, commuters increased by 302,576 and vehicles crossing between Malta and Gozo by 94,170.

As in previous years, August recorded the highest number of trips - 1,872. The largest share of vehicles and commuters crossing between the two islands - 130,623 and 500,226, respectively was also in August.