More than half of commuters are wasting 10 to 40 minutes stuck in traffic every day, according to a Misco survey conducted for The Sunday Times of Malta.

With congestion a continuing source of frustration, and long-term solutions mainly still just pipe dreams, a third of people say traffic is adding up to 20 minutes to their daily commute.

For another 20 per cent, that wasted time can be up to 40 minutes every day, although 33 per cent said traffic did not add any time to their daily journeys.

The survey, conducted by Misco among a random sample of 800 people, found that the scale of the problem was such that 60 per cent of the population has to plan ahead because of the major impact traffic has on their trips.

For anyone who regularly finds themselves caught in a jam, it will come as little surprise that 38 per cent said they felt angry or frustrated when stuck in traffic, with women and young people far more likely to experience this road rage.

Some 56 per cent, however, said they remained calm because they were used to it – and for the lucky five per cent using bikes or motorcycles, traffic was simply not a regular concern.

But when asked how they got to work every day, commuters’ answers may have pointed to part of the problem: more than three-quarters said they used a private car, with just 13 per cent using the bus and very few opting to ride a motorcycle, walk, cycle or carpool.

Men are far less likely to use public transport, with 10 times more using cars than buses, whereas among women this ratio fell to just four to one. People aged between 35 and 54, and those with higher levels of education, were also among the most likely to use private cars.

According to Eurostat surveys, Malta has the second highest rate of car ownership in the EU, with 634 passenger cars per 1000 people, behind only Luxembourg, with 661.

Some are considering a change: nearly one in five people in The Sunday Times of Malta survey said the traffic problem had made them buy, or think of buying, a motorcycle.

Yet despite rafts of government incentives encouraging the switch to two wheels, the vast majority remain reluctant, perhaps put off by the disproportionate rate of injuries among motorcycle riders.

Those under the age of 45 were nearly twice as likely to consider swapping out their cars.

Government forecasts predict that the economic cost of traffic congestion for the country will hit €1.28 billion per year by 2050 if no changes to transport policies are made.

According to the national transport strategy, morning peak trips between 1990 and 2014 increased from 75,000 to 117,000, an average growth in traffic of 2.3 per cent every year, exerting “tremendous” pressure on the capacities of road transport infrastructures.

Several solutions have been mooted for encouraging a modal shift away from cars, from increasing ferry coverage to massive infrastructural projects such as an extensive tram or monorail system.

This survey was conducted among a random sample of 800 respondents. Interviews were conducted on the telephone by trained interviewers under the direct supervision of MISCO coordinators. Respondents were selected using the random digit dialling method. A total of 1862 persons were contacted to achieve the sample of 800 respondents, which provides a margin of error within ±3.5%.