The campaigns and the clampdown on drink driving in recent days have contributed to boosting demand for alternative transport, according to companies that offer van and taxi services.
The trend has been seen especially among people planning to celebrate New Year’s Eve in the Paceville area tonight.
Joe Gerada, director of Gejxa Garage, a popular transport service based in Paceville, said his company had seen a “lot, lot more demand”.
“I think these adverts for people not to drink and drive and the Christmas Eve security checks were very effective,” Mr Gerada told The Times.
Gordon Farrugia, from John’s Garage, another major company, said “demand has definitely increased”, and the company was getting more and more enquiries, which he ascribed to the awareness campaigns.
However, since both Christmas and New Year fell on weekends, the positive effect on business was somewhat muted, as at weekends people generally make more use of public transport anyway.
“I think people are realising it’s better to pay for a taxi than risk losing their licence for a year,” Mr Farrugia said.
Since the start of the festive season, government agencies and even some private companies have been raising awareness about the dangers of drink driving through the media.
Earlier this week, The Times reported that the police had stopped 400 cars on Christmas Eve and carried out 14 breathalyser tests, nine of which were positive and which will lead to criminal charges.
The strong presence of the police on the roads is likely to have played a part in the fact that no serious accidents occurred, which was unusual for a night commonly cursed with crashes.
Sean Fitz, of Freephone Taxis, another popular service, said there had been a “substantial” rise in bookings.
“The reason is basic – they stopped 400 people on Christmas Eve, so with the word spreading, people are thinking ahead,” Mr Fitz said, adding that the parking problem in Paceville could have also contributed to the increase in demand.
Ecabs, a new taxi service, is proving to be very popular with youngsters who do not yet drive. However, according to director Matthew Bezzina, “after Monday’s article on the clampdowns, we saw a lot of people who wouldn’t normally use a taxi turn to us, as while usually we get teenagers, we’re also seeing enquiries by people as old as 40”.
On the other hand, Rennie Zammit from Silverstar and Tony Debono from Debtrans said business was roughly the same as in previous years.
Mr Debono said a don’t-drink-and-drive culture was still far from being the norm in Malta.
“Strangely enough, people have no problem spending €100 on drinks but they make a big deal to pay €20 for a taxi. When you take it all into account, it’s worth it. Abroad, if you’re going out for drinks you would not even consider driving.”