A bus lane in a two-lane road is “illegal”, according to a local tribunal commissioner, prompting wardens along the Sliema-Gżira front to issue only warnings.
The revelation emerges from correspondence exchanged between the Sliema council and the wardens company responsible for enforcement in the locality.
In the wake of what he described as “the dangerous practice” of motorists speeding through the bus lane to avoid traffic congestion, Sliema councillor Michael Briguglio asked for statistics on the number of fines issued to drivers who used the bus lane.
Much to his surprise, the reply was that wardens were only issuing warnings since they had been informed by tribunal commissioner Lynn Zahra, a lawyer, that it was illegal to have a bus lane in a two-lane road.
Speaking to the Times of Malta, Dr Briguglio said that the commissioner had informed wardens that for a bus lane to be legal it had to have another two lanes adjacent to it.
He said the wardens company also pointed out that the bus lane at Mrieħel had been removed because there were only two lanes in each carriageway.
Attempts to contact Dr Zahra yesterday proved futile.
The controversial Sliema-Gżira bus lane starts just outside the Tigné tunnel at The Point and ends at the Manoel Island junction in Gżira. For most of the stretch, the bus lane has reduced the Valletta-bound carriageway to a single lane.
Dr Briguglio said that motorists acting like “cowboys” were endangering pedestrians and other motorists when they suddenly shifted into the bus lane to speed through traffic along the Strand.
The last leg of the bus lane leading to Manoel Island was introduced earlier this year in a sea of controversy, as motorists claimed it caused congestion.
Transport Minister Joe Mizzi told The Sunday Times of Malta that the bus lane along the Sliema-Gżira front had worked well and the transport regulator was working on a plan to improve the Manoel Island junction, where the road narrowed down to a single lane on either side.
Bus lanes are intended to give priority to public transport vehicles but can also be used by cars carrying three or more passengers and by motorcycles.
Bus lanes in Aldo Moro Street in Marsa, along the Pieta-Msida coast and in St Anne Street, Floriana, fall within the criteria quoted by Dr Zahra but a new bus lane in Blata l-Bajda could fall foul of the law over a short stretch of it.
TRANSPORT MALTA INSISTS BUS LANE IS LEGAL
In a statement this morning, Transport Malta insisted that the bus lane was legal as there was no legislation specifying any number of lanes for a priority lane to be put in place.
It said that the lane was not a 'bus lane' but a 'priority lane' as it was not reserved solely for buses but could be used by electric vehicles, bicycles and LPG vehicles, for example.
These bus lanes have been in place for years now, it said, citing the ones in St Anne Street and in Aldo Moro Street, Marsa, as examples.
However, when Times of Malta visited the area yesterday, it could see that the lane was clearly marked "bus lane".