Bus subsidy to be retained

Transport Minister Jesmond Mugliett said yesterday that the sharp rise in fuel prices and efforts which were being made to raise the number of commuters using the buses meant that the government could not consider removing the subsidy to bus owners.

He said that although in 2003 then Transport Minister Censu Galea had indicated that the subsidy would be phased out by the end of next year, the sharp rise in fuel prices meant it was now more difficult to replace by raising fares. What was important was that the subsidy was controlled. Raising fares to the level necessary to meet costs could dissuade people from using buses, when efforts were being made to actually raise numbers.

The comments were made when Parliament debated the financial estimates of the Public Transport Authority (ADT).

At the opening of the debate, Mr Mugliett briefly reviewed the activities of the ADT over the past year, noting in particular, the building, on time and on budget, of the roads financed under the Italian financial protocol.

The ADT was also involved in resurfacing several roads in residential areas and it had launched the emissions alert initiative as a means to cut down on harmful vehicle emissions. Since its introduction three months ago, 881 inspections were made, 31,000 reports had been received, 14,000 vehicles were reported and 1,457 were due for testing.

The ADT was frequently in the headlines over the new Valletta parking scheme and the park and ride facility.

Over the past year the ADT improved the standard of service at the Licensing Department. A quarter of licences were being renewed online by insurance companies and this was expected to grow as the system was made available to individuals. Queuing procedures had been reorganised and part-timers were employed in peak hours to reduce waiting time to a maximum of 20 minutes.

In 10 months, the directorate handled 300,000 vehicle transfers, new registrations, new licensing and renewals, among others.

The directorate had created a database to weed out anomalies and correct them. It was found that around 21,700 licences had not been renewed. The directorate would stamp out this abuse, which cost Lm2.6 million in lost revenue.

Over the past year, the licensing system for stevedores was revamped in line with EU obligations.

The number of commuters on the buses had risen slightly and he felt the service had improved although more had to be done.

Mr Mugliett said the Network Infrastructure Directorate administered Lm6 million last year and Lm19 million this year, including the Lm14 million from the Italian protocol. It would be administering another Lm19 million next year, including Lm12 million from EU funds.

Mr Mugliett referred to the controversy over the new driving test. Many, he said, complained about the high number of failures. It was true that the test was more difficult but Malta had had to conform to foreign legislation as well as aim for greater road safety.

Turning to the Public Transport Directorate, Mr Mugliett said that discussions regarding the implementation of the Halcrow report had been embarked upon.

The authority was aiming for a reform in this sector and although the agreement reached with bus owners last year had been a first step, there were issues, such as routes, which still had to be addressed.

Certain operators were afraid of change and wanted to retain the status quo.

The minister said that the impact of the increase in the cost of fuel had been enormous and the subsidy for the buses this year reached Lm1.8 million, not including a Lm100,000 subsidy on insurances.

He said that although between last year and this year Lm2.5 million were netted from operations, the government still had to subsidise public transport.

A code of conduct for operators was introduced this year and 932 offences were reported in nine months. This was substantial and showed the effectiveness of the system. An independent tribunal had been set up to hear contravention cases more quickly.

The minister said there had been an increase in the number of commuters especially on the routes to the University and Junior College. These services had carried 8,000 people in December and 15,000 in January. This showed how necessary these routes were and also that the fare was just.

On the obligatory insurance of operators of public transport, the minister said that the Motor Insurance Pool had originally demanded a 30 per cent rise in premia. This was not seen as being justified and the insurers eventually halved their increase.

Mr Mugliett said the ADT was working to improve the taxi service. Talks had been held and improvements, including meters, would be introduced over the coming months.

Charles Buhagiar (MLP) focusing on transport observed that since the elections there were four instances where the bus owners threatened or carried out industrial action as their costs rose.

But there had also been other issues over the past two years. The bus ticketing machines, introduced in July 2003 were still causing problems, notably because of software issues, and repairs were taking far too long to be made.

In March last year the government and the bus owners agreed on various reforms, including the creation of "strategic hubs." But what had happened of this proposal since then?

When they resorted to industrial action, the bus owners repeatedly insisted on higher fares or a bigger government subsidy. But for how long would the subsidy be retained? In November 2003, then Transport Minister Censu Galea had said that the subsidy would be phased out in three years. The 2006 budget included an allocation for the subsidy, but would this be the last? The subsidy, Mr Buhagiar said, was given because the buses were a social service.

In Gozo no subsidy was given because the buses were also used for private services. Yet in Malta, between 40 and 50 route buses were not being used on the routes. They were used privately and they still got the subsidy. Was this right? Once the subsidy was given, it should be addressed only to those who needed it.

Indeed, with so much public money having been invested in the bus fleet, there was need to ensure that the utilisation rate was higher. How could one have a situation where half the buses were not being used on the routes on any day?

Mr Buhagiar said he was not against the bus lanes, but their introduction had to follow proper study. The Marsa bus lane had been beneficial for the buses once they got to it. But congestion on the other lanes had created tailbacks that held up the buses before they got to the bus lanes.

Once the causes of the problem had been identified, it was a mistake that no civil works were carried out to remove the traffic bottlenecks.

But what was even more shameful or comical was how a bus lane was introduced at Mriehel only for it to be removed after somebody found out that bus lanes were only allowed in roads having at least three lanes.

If the government and the ADT believed in the usefulness of bus lanes, why did the newly rebuilt roads not include the provision for them?

Mr Buhagiar said other longstanding issues which needed to be tackled was the way bus drivers worked up to 16 hours per day, and how facilities for drivers and dispatchers at bus termini were still grossly inadequate.

Mr Buhagiar said he agreed a concerted effort should be made to increase the number of people using public transport. The oil crisis would push people to look for the service but at the same time the government had to see that the service was improved, he said.

On the other hand, there had to be effective enforcement of regulations. Some 223 bus drivers were caught driving without a tag. These things were not acceptable, yet it looked like nothing happened.

Turning to coaches and mini buses, he said operators faced serious problems regarding insurance. Another issue was how specifications were changed locally, forcing the owners to reduce the carrying capacity the vehicles were designed for.

As for the taxi service, there was a lot of room for expansion, but he praised the decision to have metre installed on taxis next year.

Mr Buhagiar said the service of karozzini (horse drawn cabs) needed to be looked at from a holistic perspective. For example, there should be a limit on the number of people who could be carried and proper shelters should be provided for the horses.

With regard to the estimates for the authority, Mr Buhagiar asked how, despite the 55 per cent surcharge, the ADT was planning to spend Lm1,000 less on water and electricity next year. He also questioned the compensation for the board of directors and executive, which he said had shot up from Lm98,800 in last year to Lm190,000 this year and Lm267,000 next year.

How was it that Lm10,000 were allocated for the Traffic Management Directorate over the past year while only Lm600 were projected next year?

He also queried a projected income from K and Y-plates of Lm450,000, which was not there during this year.

Labour MP Anton Refalo said Gozitans were very poorly served by public transport in Gozo and the service was not subsidised.

Suffice to say that the bus service to Dingli and Mtarfa in Malta operated for longer hours and far more frequently than between Victoria and Nadur in Gozo, even though Nadur was a bigger town. In view of the rise in fuel prices, the people would seek to use the buses more frequently. The government should therefore improve public transport in every part of Gozo.

It was also shameful that less than one per cent of the funds from the Italian financial protocol had been allocated for the roads in Gozo. He had complained about this to the Italian ambassador because the Gozitans were being treated as second class citizens.

Dr Refalo said the much heralded building of a community centre in Victoria had not come about, despite the allocation of funds for it. One of the consequences of this unrealised promise was that the car park which was to form part of this development had not materialised.

Winding up, Mr Mugliett referred to comments by Mr Buhagiar. He said that the increase from Lm98,000 to Lm276,000 in the salary of the board of directors and the management had come about because there had been an increase in the number of units and persons who were to become answerable to the chief executive.

In fact, if one looked at the total amount being spent on salaries, one would not see any particular increase.

The minister referred to the projected revenue of Lm450,000 from K and Y plates, saying this stemmed from legislation to prevent abuse in this sector.

Referring to expenditure on roads, the minister said that although a total of Lm19 million were to be spent, this covered the whole programme, including the amount to come from the EU.

Part of it, he said, would be used for Gozo projects, which could be seen under the allocations for the Gozo Ministry.

Gozo's road infrastructural needs were being currently addressed and three big projects were being undertaken with the help of the EU. These were from Victoria to San Lawrenz, Mgarr to Ghajnsielem and Victoria to Xlendi roads. Gozo, he said, was also benefiting from Lm108,000 allocated for studies for projects to be submitted post 2007.

He said that Dr Refalo failed to mention the Lm330,000 allocated for residential roads.

Dr Refalo also failed to say that Gozitan bus commuters were subsidised directly through subsidies for students and workers. Referring to complaints over the bus ticketing system, the minister said this was not perfect but it was constantly being fine-tuned and it was giving a satisfactory operation.

With regard to criticism that the roads were being reduced to single lane, the minister said that what was being done was merely that roads were being made constant. In other words if a road was single lane and then it opened on two lanes it reverted to single lane throughout. However, he added, even the roads which became consistently single lane did not seem to impact on traffic that much. The government tried to widen roads as much as possible but this often depended on the amount of land expropriated and the costs involved.

Minister Mugliett said that the sector was particularly difficult because of the size of the country and the fact that there were a lot of short trips and overlaps. However, the minister emphasised that the reforms the government was discussing were precisely aimed at streamlining such issues and finding the best possible solution.

The estimates were later approved after a division.