Commuters who left their car keys at home when heading to work yesterday were left wondering why they bothered yesterday, as long queues formed across the island’s road network.
“I decided to give it ago, leaving my car at home and catching the bus to work but never again,” Calvin Muscat told the Times of Malta.
“What took an hour because of traffic when I drove to work on Monday took almost twice as long on the bus today. Unacceptable.”
He posted a similar observation on social media that led to a flurry of comments on a popular motoring Facebook page.
In fact, Facebook was awash with complaints from commuters who said alternatives were not proving useful.
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“My colleagues and I have been carpooling but after today’s traffic… it’s bad enough having to drive straight to work, you can forget driving to three different places to pick people up on the way. I’m sorry but it’s just not feasible,” Edward Mallia said.
He commented in the same vein on Facebook with many sharing the sentiment.
“It took me an extra half an hour to get to work because I got stuck in two traffic jams when picking people up for our carpool,” was one comment that played out several times.
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Traffic jams multiplied and more roads became clogged since Monday, when all schools opened their doors after the summer holidays, with the sharp increase in road usage proving too much for traffic hotspots.
The transport authorities have announced a series of measures aimed at easing traffic. Commuters would see more enforcement officers at key traffic nodes around the country, with Transport Malta also monitoring roads from its control centre, they said.
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Officials will also keep a close eye on traffic using the Maltese Road Traffic Updates Facebook page and app and working with the page administrators to mark road works and possible obstructions on maps.
Over the past two days, the page has posted several photos, showing long queues and gridlock traffic.
Drivers who run into car trouble can call emergency number 8007 3399 to summon a tow truck for free and local councils have been guided to not issue permits for road closures, even partial ones, between 7am and 9am.