The taxpayer will be footing an estimated €2 million per month in losses until a new public transport operator is chosen, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt.
Although the government is intent on introducing more efficiency, a spokeswoman for the Transport Ministry said Arriva’s deficit of around €1.8 million a month could “potentially” grow further with the removal of the two-tiered fare system for foreigners from tomorrow.
The elimination of this “discriminatory” tariff, which landed Malta in hot water with the EU, will cost taxpayers around €250,000 a month.
“The service will potentially cost more than it cost Arriva because we are no longer charging tourists discriminatory prices.
“We must also make sure the service is attractive to a new investor so we must get to the bottom of what went wrong, cut inefficiencies and find a way to improve the sustainability of the service,” the ministry spokeswoman said when contacted.
The cost of the service is also expected to increase by a further €3 million since the government wants to introduce extra routes, in line with the public consultation held through local councils last year.
In its two-and-a-half year stint in Malta, Arriva received €23 million in government subsidies.
This cost is now expected to increase and the new operator will receive more.
The call for expressions of interest for the new public transport operator will be issued this week and according to Transport Minister Joe Mizzi this should not drag on for more a month.
He told television programme Dissett last week that the new operator is not expected to take over the service before March or April, which means that the service will be run by the new government-run company, Malta Public Transport Services Limited, for at least four months.
Fines for non-paying commuters are likely to increase
Mr Mizzi said that a few foreign and Maltese companies had already expressed some form of interest in taking over the service.
He said fares would remain unchanged until the new transport operator was in place.
The ministry spokeswoman said once the new operator was chosen, the ministry would embark on discussions “to negotiate the best prices for the public, keeping in mind the social nature of this service and the fact that bus use must pay”.
Regarding Mr Mizzi’s claim on Dissett that Arriva had complained of “pilferage”, the ministry spokeswoman said the government was taking this claim “very seriously”.
She did not reply when asked whether the matter would be referred to the police.
“It was during negotiations that claims of potential pilferage were made. We will certainly be taking this very seriously and we shall be implementing all the necessary measures to mitigate and avoid this risk,” she said.
She added that the fines for non-paying commuters were also likely to increase “to act as a stronger deterrent”.
Arriva’s ill-fated business venture in Malta came to an end on Thursday when it reached a settlement with the government to rescind the 10-year contract it had signed when it took over in 2011.
The British company, a subsidiary of German transport firm Deutsche Bahn, made losses from the very first day of operations in Malta.
mxuereb@timesofmalta.com