More than 900 students who daily struggle to find one of the limited parking spots at the University of Malta live just a short walk away, a recent study has found.
Figures compiled by the University Students’ Council – KSU – show how around a sixth of the staggering 5,556 student cars issued with parking permits belong to students who live within a two-kilometre radius of the campus in Tal-Qroqq.
More than a quarter of the drivers, some 1,400, live less than four kilometres away – roughly a 10-minute bus ride away.
The figures shed light on students’ aversion to using alternative modes of transport with two in every three saying they use their own private vehicle to get to the lectures.
The biggest problem facing these drivers is the limited number of parking slots once they make it to the campus.
Watch: University cannot have any more parking spaces
The University of Malta has 680 bays available for students – just one slot for every 10 registered student cars. The KSU executive told the Times of Malta that student mobility was one of the major challenges that needed addressing.
“Given the central location of the university, alternative modes of transport have the potential to make student commuting trips significantly better and enhance our overall university experience,” the KSU said.
Around 40 per cent of parking permit holders lived between four and six kilometres away.
The Mosta Dome is some six kilometres away from the university and according to the KSU study, only around a third of the students with parking permits live any further away from campus than that.
A recent KSU survey had also found that 44 per cent of those who said they drove to university would consider cycling as an alternative means of transport.
KSU said a number of students had already taken up cycling to university and had recently commented on how short their commute was.
Students from Birkirkara, KSU added, took 10 minutes to get to tal-Qroqq, while those from Lija, Attard or Sliema took 15 minutes.
Cycling from Swieqi took just eight minutes, while students coming from nearby San Ġwann said it took them just five minutes. Even Siġġiewi only took one student just 30 minutes to cycle from.
Three quarters of student drivers said they would consider using a park and ride service if it was provided. That, KSU said, came as no surprise as the survey found that students spent an average of 20 minutes searching for parking on campus every day.
Just over half of students said they would carpool, but only if adequate parking was provided.
Public transport remains relatively unflavoured by students as an alternative, with unpunctual buses and inconvenient routes quoted as the most common factors putting students off catching a bus.