10 years ago - The Times
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Transport reform seeks to increase patronage
The government yesterday launched a vision document on public transport reform which has to be in place by 2015 but has to start in 2010.
The main aim of the reform is an increase in patronage.
“Patronage is consistently going down. I will be happy only when this increases,” Transport Minister Austin Gatt said.
The document analyses the reasons for failure, proposes principles for reform and discusses solutions.
Dr Gatt said the main reason for the failure of the public transport system was political indecision by several governments that failed to grab the bull by the horns and instead came up with several minor reforms.
End of Magic Kiosk
The turquoise, aquarium-like structure that has graced Sliema Ferries for the past 20-odd years is fast approaching its demise, judging by a judicial protest which makes clear that the government has no intention of extending the lease to the notorious Magic Kiosk beyond this December.
The idea is to restore the square to its former glory and clear it of the kiosk.
25 years ago - The Times
Saturday, July 24, 1993
Karistu Ferries wants to break Gozo Channel’s monopoly
A private ferry company is to file a lawsuit in an attempt to break the monopoly enjoyed by Gozo Channel Co. Ltd on the Gozo-Malta route.
A spokesman for Karistu Ferries Ltd said yesterday the move is a “last resort” after requests for meetings were “pushed aside” and two judicial letters “ignored”.
Karistu Ferries Ltd is owned by the Zammit family, whose vessels plied the Gozo-Malta route before Gozo Channel Co. Ltd was set up in the 1970s. They retain a small shareholding in Gozo Channel.
Karistu Ferries applied to the police for a licence to run a shuttle service between Xatt ir-Riżq and Mġarr in Gozo, however the application was refused.
Last May the company put forward to Francis Zammit Dimech, the transport minister, a formal proposal for the ferry service. It was summarily turned down, in a two-paragraph letter.
The official reason given was “on grounds of policy”. It remains unclear whether this policy is based on objections made by Gozo Channel.
Half a century ago - Times of Malta
Wednesday, July 24, 1968
US Ambassador to NATO on two-day visit
Ambassador Harlan Cleveland, US representative to the North Atlantic Council of Nato, will visit Malta between today and next Friday. He will be accompanied by Mrs Cleveland and Major General Beverly Powell, Deputy Defence Advisor to the US Mission to Nato.
The Ambassador and his party are scheduled to arrive in Malta at 4.30pm. Departure is scheduled for Friday morning. During their brief sojourn on the Island, Ambassador and Mrs Cleveland will be the guests of Ambassador and Mrs Hugh H. Smythe at Villa Bijou, Rabat.
Born in New York in 1918, Harlan Cleveland graduated from Andover and Princeton, followed by a Rhodes scholarship at Oxford.
Heads of Malta’s Mission meet
The Heads of Malta’s Mission abroad yesterday called on the Acting Governor General Sir Anthony Mamo at the Palace, Valletta, and on the Prime Minister Dr George Borg Olivier at the Auberge d’Aragon where the other Cabinet Ministers were also present.