A public transport app, online jobseeking platform and mail forwarding service were among the big winners at this year's MCA eBusiness Awards. 

Malta Public Transport's Tallinja app won the best app category, with Maltapost's SendOn and EasyPik services named the best Business-to-Consumer service. Jobsplus.gov.mt, an ICON-designed platform which modernises jobseeking, was named best eGovernment initiative. Shireburn Software won the Best Business-to-Business category for its Shireburn Indigo Payroll. 

In a statement, Malta Public Transport said it was honoured to win the award. Its Tallinja app, developed by Alert, allows passengers to see real-time information about bus arrival times from any of 2,000 bus stops around the island. 

Judges whittled down a record 55 nominations to 26 finalists across eight categories. 

A study titled 'Malta’s digital economy: developing connectivity for a small EU Member State’ won Daniela Bartolo an award for Best ICT academic dissertation with an eBusiness theme, while The Student Campus won the Best Tech Startup award. Pharmacy of Your Choice's 'Beyond an ERP Solution' was acknowledged for its Best Use of Technology in Business Transformation. New York Best won the Best Social Media Campaign award for its campaign developed by ANCHOVY, with the public's votes making up 50 per cent of the weighting in this particular category. 

The award ceremony was held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, with Digital Minister Emmanuel Mallia on hand to congratulate award winners. 

“The ICT sector deserves all the support that the Government can possibly give in terms of infrastructural backing," the minister told those present. "It is hard to think of a commercial or civil activity in which ICT is not the underpinning currency."