Watch: Under the Bonett – the inner workings of a new mass transport system

The media is being unfair when it gives the impression the country is full of cars, because the problem is not the number of vehicles on the roads, according to Transport Minister Chris Bonett. 

“We’re not full, stop with the scaremongering. It’s true there is an issue with the number of cars, but it shouldn’t be exaggerated,” he told Times of Malta during an interview filmed this week on the Msida flyover, just 48 hours before it was officially opened.

“The bigger issue is that almost all of us drive to the same part of the island every morning, at the same time – and that’s the area around Valletta and the harbours.”

This, he said, is what the government and international transport consultants ARUP are studying now, as they work on the design of a mass transport system which could open the first railway as early as three years after the start of construction.

“With ARUP, we plan to shift where people go with their cars. The idea is to build stations away from the busy Valletta and ports area to spread the flow of traffic to calmer areas,” he said.

This would allow people to park their cars there and take a rail to the centre, as many commuters do in most European cities.

The model has been implemented with great success in Copenhagen, he said, a city which struggled with impressively similar traffic woes to Malta.

“And in these places people gradually began to move their work out of the busy centre and to the areas around the new stations, effectively spreading out and easing congestion,” he said.

The system would be multi-modal – meaning it would include buses (the routes of which will be updated to suit modern needs), ferries, and underground, on-ground and overground rails, he said.

This is not very different from the concept of park and rides, but is quite different from the first metro proposal announced in 2021.

“That was too expensive, and we went back to ARUP and said, ‘This is beautiful, but it won’t work for us. So, the idea is evolving into this one,” he said.

Bonett believes this could be the system that urges people out of their cars.

“People want to get from A to B as quickly and as easily as possible. Right now, that’s the car. So, any real alternative must be faster and easier,” he said.

“That’s what we’re aiming for, and if we get there, rest assured, we won’t need to use stick measures, because people will naturally opt for it.

“Then, when people have a suitable alternative, I might consider disincentivising car use. But only then. Until then, any tax would be unfair.”

MARK LAURENCE ZAMMIT: We’re on the Msida flyover, days before it opens to traffic.

CHRIS BONETT: We promised to open it by the end of the year, and here we are. The project moved well, deadlines were met, and the contractors performed.

Despite people predicting a national tragedy before we started, our team consulted widely and went for the best options. They deserve credit. Once complete, we will remove the traffic lights here forever.

This isn’t just a road project; the road is a small part of it. We are reconnecting Msida. For many years, a main road divided Msida. But that main road is now elevated and beneath it we are reconnecting community spaces – gardens, a boċċi club and a square in front of the church.

This is what we mean when we say we want open spaces in the heart of localities.

MLZ: The flyover is convenient, but it’s bulky. Do you ever feel it has made the view of the church uglier?

CB: No. The church always had a road in front of it; now it will have a square. The flyover is a large structure, but weighing everything up, it was the better option. Even the best options have downsides, which we try to mitigate, like the sound barriers we installed here. They are made to reduce traffic noise for residents.

Again, before the project began, many said residents would be against it, but during construction, they have been welcoming. When we put the biggest chunk of the flyover in place, residents were clapping from their balconies. I only wish we could catch it on camera.

And the flyover’s height also allows space for the canal, which is vital for managing rainwater in Msida. It is designed to catch all the rainfall in this area and avoid flooding.

MLZ: You say the residents are happy, but the local council isn’t.

CB: I’m disappointed about that. PN councillors who backed this two years ago have now turned against it after taking control of the council. I feel that was political opportunism. We can’t move forward if we keep working like that.

MLZ: When will the project be completed?

CB: It will be fully finished around this time next year. Work on the canal and square is already underway.

MLZ: Regarding the pedestrian bridge that is meant to connect the project to the Pietà Junior College area, can you provide designs? Just to confirm it won’t be an eyesore in front of the church.

CB: The proposal was put forward by Junior College students, and it makes sense because they want a safe crossing.

MLZ: But these bridges are often underutilised, and the lifts frequently malfunction.

CB: That’s an assumption. If people didn’t use them, they wouldn’t complain when the lifts fail. The criticism is based on a 2020 design; the one we are working on now is different. It will be further up the road to minimise the impact on the surroundings.

MLZ: This project may be good, but it hardly solves the traffic problem. It seems you are avoiding punitive measures that might lose you votes. Consequently, traffic congestion has remained intense, and now you have no idea how to solve the issue.

CB: I won’t say we’ve solved it, but people will tell you traffic flow has eased in some areas where we implemented measures. A problem like this can’t be solved in two years or with a flick of a finger. It requires short, medium and long-term measures. We shouldn’t lead people to believe there is an easy fix. I won’t do that.

MLZ: But you haven’t even completed the short-term measures. The €25,000 licence surrender scheme hasn’t taken off, nor has the shifting of deliveries to off-peak hours.

CB: By the time this interview is published, we will have announced the €25,000 scheme for 18-to-30-year-olds, starting in January. Deliveries are more complex because they disrupt supply chains, so we are still consulting on that.

Garbage collection was also harder than expected due to some local councils preferring their garbage is collected in the morning, due to contractual obligations and due to safety concerns at Wasteserv during dark hours. We have, however, opened park and rides in Paola and Ta’ Qali.

MLZ: I’m informed people don’t use the one in Ta’ Qali.

CB: I’m not surprised. Take-up can be slow with these kinds of measures. But we can’t ditch a measure after two months. If it still doesn’t work later, we’ll revisit it. The Paola site is increasing in use, and we’re looking at another in Pembroke.

MLZ: But it’s clear the ‘carrot’ alone isn’t working. Thousands are still stuck in traffic. It still takes me the same time to go to work and come back home. Aren’t you just afraid that the ‘stick’ will cost you votes?

CB: I won’t introduce a tax for a tax’s sake. Right now, if I introduce a parking meter, for instance, people will just continue using their car and pay the meter fee. People won’t change their behaviour because there is no better alternative to their car. And all I will have done is introduced a tax for its own sake. I will only consider disincentives when good alternatives exist that people still refuse to use. But we’re not there yet.

MLZ: But the bus is an alternative.

CB: It’s not a good enough alternative yet to merit disincentives. We are adding routes, but the system needs an overhaul. The Tallinja contract expires in 2029; it was designed for a very different Malta when it was signed in 2014. And the new routes will be integrated in the new mass transport system we are discussing with ARUP, which will include any mode of public transport that moves people around – including buses, ferries and underground, on-ground and overground rails.

I often notice the media is obsessed with the number of cars…

MLZ: Because they create the gridlock.

CB: But someone needs to drive those cars.

MLZ: They are driving them, believe me, we are full of them.

CB: We’re not full.

MLZ: We aren’t?

CB: Stop with the scaremongering. We do have an issue, but you shouldn’t exaggerate it.

MLZ: There is a car for every person in Malta.

CB: Malta has many cars, but we must understand when and where they are. Even if we had 600 million cars, a person can only drive one car at a time.

MLZ: …Assuming the rest are being kept in a garage. It’s a problem if they are parked on the roads.

CB: People with 10 cars are usually collectors with garages. Families with multiple cars parked on the street are a problem, I agree. But there is another issue which is apart from the number of cars.

All of us living in Malta are spread around the island, but every morning, 70% of us drive to the same part of the country at the same time. We all head to Valletta and the area around the harbours. That creates the congestion. We want to create stations outside the centre to shift that flow.

Copenhagen did that. They had a very similar traffic problem to ours, and they erected small, minimal rail stations away from the centre. Gradually, people began to shift their workplaces closer to these new hubs.

MLZ: Wouldn’t it be easier for people to drive to these stations and take the rail to the centre?

CB: Yes, that will also be an option. A lot of traffic measures in the past were mostly patchwork – they only catered for the problems of their time. The first time a longer-term vision was proposed was in 2021, with the three-line metro proposal. But it was too expensive. We’ve evolved that idea with ARUP. And this is what it’s evolving into.

People want to get from A to B as quickly and as easily as possible. Right now, their best option is the car, and any mass transport system can only work if it’s faster and easier than the car. It’s also not as expensive and complex as the first metro. ARUP says we could open the first part of the rail within three years from the start of construction.

MLZ: Finance Minister Clyde Caruana wasn’t very excited about this project. He said if we’re not careful with it, we could get “royally screwed”. How did you feel about that? Because this is your baby.

CB: Clyde said nothing wrong.

MLZ: MaltaToday reported you were angry during a cabinet meeting after those comments.

CB: They say a lot of things.

MLZ: But did you or did you not get angry about it? Did you argue with him about it?

CB: My only issue was that I expected him to say it to me directly as a colleague. And I said this to him. I would have liked him to come to me.

MLZ: Wasn’t it in the public’s interest to know what he had to say, though?

CB: He said nothing wrong. I share his concern, obviously. God forbid we get this wrong. We ditched the first plans for the metro precisely so that we don’t get royally screwed. Now, we’re trying to create a system that works and doesn’t screw us. And that’s how you win votes – not with incentives or disincentives but when you show people you’re serious about your job and know what you’re doing.

MLZ: So, you were offended by Clyde’s comment.

CB: Not at all. Why do you want me to admit to something you think I feel? I told Clyde that I think he should have done it differently. That’s all.

It’s not like there’s one person in Cabinet who’s acting responsibly with the country’s finances and the rest of us aren’t. I share that responsibility. I also want to leave my two children a country that isn’t broke.

MLZ: You are also responsible for public works. Don’t you think the €300,000 direct order for gravel at Ta’ Qali was too much?

CB: So far, I’m relying on what I’ve been told – that the project is working. If it doesn’t, we’ll find alternatives. There’s no weakness in admitting a mistake. I’ve done it before. But, so far, I’m told it should work.

MLZ: You’d have to admit it was a bad idea.

CB: Not necessarily a bad idea. Sometimes you implement a good idea that doesn’t yield the outcome you hoped for.

MLZ: That would be a very expensive mistake. We’re talking a third of a million euros here.

CB: The alternative is to do nothing.

MLZ: …Or to do it right the first time.

CB: We all do things with the right intentions.

MLZ: But the right intentions aren’t enough when you’re in government. It must work.

CB: Yes, but no government gets everything spot on. We’re human beings at the end of the day.

MLZ: But why was a €300,000 direct order necessary?

CB: I’m going to shock you with this, but in infrastructure, you sometimes need direct orders to get things done. Sometimes, if you don’t grab the bull by the horns and do it, you’ll never get it done. We’ve issued larger direct orders at Infrastructure Malta, and they’re all documented. You can do it if you have valid reasons.

MLZ: But you’re creating fertile ground – excuse the pun – for corruption.

CB: Someone with bad intentions can be corrupt even with a tendering process. If a direct order is used well, it isn’t unethical, irrespective of how large the amount is. We have demonised direct orders needlessly in this country. It just depends on the intentions of the people using them.

MLZ: After Msida, where are you going to dig up next?

CB: We’re looking at three major projects: Paceville, Tal-Imgħallaq in Qormi and Bir id-Deheb – at the intersection of Żejtun, Marsaxlokk, Birżebbuġa and Għaxaq. We will decide which to prioritise after analysing traffic counts. But first, we must finish this one and do a good job here. We’ll talk about what’s next later.

This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.