More than 10,000 have applied for a bus card since the announcement that applications will be free of charge until the end of February, Transport Minister Chris Bonnet said on Wednesday.

"We will continue to work on measures to encourage the use of public transport," he said in a Facebook post. 

The free Tallinja buscard announcement was made earlier this month. Transport Malta had said that the application fee was being waived until the end of February, but bus fares for non-card users were being raised.   

Non-card users will be charged €2.50 instead of €2 per ticket purchased on the bus with cash or via the contactless payment facility. While the seven-day bus card for children will be reduced from €15 to €7, the same card for adults will increase to €25 from €21. A 12-day journey card will increase to €21 from €15. 

The new tariffs came into force on Monday. 

The bus service became free for bus card holders in October 2022. At that time Malta was the second country in Europe where public transport was free.

A record 67.3 million passenger trips were made on the buses last year, up from 49.6 million in 2022.  

Bus card holders are also entitled to free use of the ferries between Sliema, Cottonera and Valletta, including the use of the Upper Barrakka lift.