Details unveiled for 18-month plan to reduce traffic in Malta

Updated 4.30pm with PN statement

A series of measures was unveiled on Saturday to tackle Malta’s chronic traffic congestion by pushing for a shift in people’s travel habits.

Transport Minister Chris Bonett announced a sweeping set of incentives on Saturday, including an offer of €25,000 for drivers willing to give up their car and licence for five years. The plan will be introduced within the next three months. 

Bonett also revealed that a proposal to pay 17-year-olds €1,500 a year for four years to ride scooters instead of driving cars will also be open to any adult car driver who agrees to renounce their car licence for four years.  

That incentive, as well as a raft of others Bonett unveiled on Saturday, will be introduced within the next 18 months.

Among other things, the minister intends to introduce a series of new bus routes servicing major industrial zones on April 20, and reform rules concerning vintage vehicles to stamp out abuse of the system.

Other proposals include:

• A €1,000 grant to purchase motorcycles under 200cc and extra €1,000 if scrapping a car or van in the process;
• Designated carpooling parking spaces at the University of Malta;
• Shifting road services (from landscaping to road cleansing) to off-peak hours;
• Shifting hospitality, construction, retail and manufacturing deliveries to off-peak hours;
• Develop park and ride facilities in Ta’ Qali, Paola, Cospicua and Pembroke;
• Allow public parking at government sites outside office hours;
• Increase parking spots for motorbikes, scooters and electric vehicles.

The measures follow a public consultation exercise that kicked off last November.

Bonett said the entire programme should cost between €10 and €15 million to implement.

The action plan is available online and will complement the government’s longer-term traffic plan, which will be announced soon.

From now to June

In a marathon presentation lasting over 90 minutes, Bonett pledged to introduce 11 measures by June.

Arguably the most eye-catching is one exclusively revealed by Times of Malta last week, which will offer car drivers €25,000 spread over five years if they renounce their driving licence for that period.

Anyone who takes up the offer will not be allowed to drive any other licenced vehicle, including motorbikes. Applicants would need to give up their vehicle licence plate to qualify. 

The minister said there would be “other caveats” to the scheme which would be unveiled in due course.

New bus routes to industrial estates in Marsa, San Ġwann, Ħal Farruġ, Bulebel, Corradino, and Marsa will also be introduced next month, and the frequencies of bus routes including route 82 (Birżebuġġa-Valletta), and X300 (Ċirkewwa terminal to the university and Valletta) will be increased.

Several other, new bus routes will also be introduced, the minister said, including a route linking Mater Dei, St Vincent de Paul and the airport and another linking Valletta hotels to the airport. 

Routes 82, 83, 88, 118, 205, 207 and X300 will all be upgraded with increased frequencies as of April 20.  

The government will also introduce a new park-and-ride system for Paola and Tarxien from the Addolorata Cemetery within the next months. The service will pass through Tarxien and end at the Paola square.

Road cleansing and road marking work will all shift to off-peak hours over the coming months, the minister said. 

Changes to vintage vehicle rules will also be introduced by the summer, he said.

Currently, cars that are older than 30 years are exempted from annual licence fees and must only pay an annual €8 administrative fee, provided the vehicle does not exceed 3,000 ilometres per year.

Vintage vehicles are marked on Maltese roads with a black number plate.

“The policy was introduced to keep vintage and beautiful vehicles on the road, but some of those vehicles are not vintage at all,” Bonett said.

From June, vehicles will have to be 35 years old to qualify for a black number plate and such vehicles will be subject to inspections.

Bonett pledged to update the public about the government’s mobility plan every three months.

At each such presentation he will explain the government’s plan for the upcoming quarter while giving an update of the government’s work to implement the policy.

What other measures are there?

The government will also start allowing 17-year-olds to drive scooters ranging between 80cc and 100cc, if they agree not to drive a car for four years.

Those who take up the offer will also receive a cash incentive of €1,500 a year.

“We understand that some errands cannot be done by a scooter, so this amount will make good for any additional transport costs that are needed,” Bonett said.

The €1,500-a-year offer will also be extended to anyone else who opts to renounce their driving licence for four years to drive a scooter instead.

The government will also re-introduce a motorcycle cash grant.

Those buying low-powered motorcycles (up to 200cc) will get €1,000, with €750 for medium-performance motorcycles (max 500cc). It will also re-offer an extra €500 for scrapping a motorcycle that is over a decade old.

If a car or van over 10 years old is scrapped, an additional €1,000 will be awarded, he said.

Other measures include:

• Study into feasibility of cargo ferries at places like Corradino and the Freeport Terminal;
• Concluding a National Cycling Strategy;
• Developing a national walking strategy;
• Appointment of the Alternative Mobility Ambassador and Committee.

PN response: Wrong end

The Nationalist Party slammed the government traffic management proposals saying it was “approaching the issue from the wrong end”.

In a statement issued on Saturday afternoon, the shadow minister for transport Mark Anthony Sammut said the government was “attempting to push people away from car usage before providing viable alternatives and investing in the right infrastructure.”

“If the Government continues to ignore the need to shift our economic model away from one that relies on uncontrolled population growth, and towards one based on quality, then in a few years’ time all these measures will be worthless, as the traffic problem will still be staring us in the face,” Sammut said.

He called for an action plan to improve road safety adding that the proposals “fall short of offering real solutions” to Malta’s traffic problems because they “fail to address the root causes, the excessive number of cars on our roads, inadequate infrastructure, lack of an efficient mass transport service and the absence of a proper framework for alternative modes of transport”.

“While some of the incentives announced today, such as encouraging people to use motorcycles instead of cars, could make sense if properly implemented, the PN believes these must be accompanied by an action plan to improve safety and reduce road hazards,” Sammut said.

He suggested regular education campaigns, stronger enforcement, proper infrastructure and legislation that offers greater protection for riders of two-wheeled vehicles. 

He also criticised the government for failing to establish its targets of how many cars it aims to reduce from the roads through these schemes or by when.