Traffic was moving easily on roads from St Julian’s to Paceville and Pembroke when Times of Malta visited them, with no stops at expected junctions such as the Paceville roundabout or Swieqi tunnels. 

In Pembroke, where residents have previously complained about the number of schools within short distances of each other creating traffic chaos, roads were also relatively clear at around 7.15 am, with a few cars making quick stops at designated points for drop-offs and quickly continuing on their way. 

Photo: Jonathan Borg

Photo: Jonathan Borg

Photo: Jonathan Borg

Driving through a small section of the Coast Road, the Pembroke Junction and Regional Road was mostly seamless, with traffic coming to a stop at the appropriate junctions and quickly resuming. 

There was some congestion at the Swatar and Mater Dei exit of the Birkirkara Bypass, creating a small tailback that slowed down traffic coming from the skatepark roundabout at around 7.30 am. 

But once over this obstacle, cars flowed down the bypass freely and only came to a significant stop a few metres ahead of the main junction between Birkirkara, Lija and Mosta. 

Car build-up increased when Times of Malta reached the Technopark roundabout in Mosta, close to Pama Supermarket. But there were no significant stops or prolonged standstill. 

The detour from Pantar Road through rural Attard eventually led to the town’s primary school, where the load leading out was closed to traffic. 

Although the closure required a turn-around to avoid a dead-end, under the watchful eye of the on-duty police officers, traffic did not congregate much in the area as the next road over connected motorists to the main road out of Attard. 

Photo: Jonathan Borg

The rest of the journey between 8 am and 8.30 am, ran smoothly through Mrieħel, Marsa, Qormi, Żebbuġ and back to Mrieħel with no congestion to speak of. 

Motorists who travelled from the south of Malta towards the centre and the north similarly reported not encountering any significant traffic or delays. 

While traffic was slow-moving on the Marsa Junction, it flowed without issue. Even the Marsa-Ħamrun bypass – a notorious traffic blackspot – did not experience the intense congestion many feared.

Noticeably, most of the main junctions had at least one Transport Malta official on hand to direct traffic, with busier junctions even having two or three officials there. 

The increased presence of the authorities on the roads is part of Transport Malta’s plan to ease back-to-school traffic congestion. 

The plan includes other efforts such as pausing roadworks during rush hour in busy areas and putting a stop to councils issuing permits for road closures during these times. 

Photo: Jonathan Borg

Transport Malta also said it is focusing on stepping up enforcement on illegalities that contribute to congestion, such as illegal stops or parking, in a bid to decongest areas that typically suffer from traffic build-up. 

This is not to say that there is an absence of cars on the road. 

Times of Malta previously reported that school buses are set to ferry 33,761 students across 3,449 routes this scholastic year. 

Some 14,000 of those children are ferried to state schools while roughly 19,730 children will be taken to Church and Independent schools.