Bus ticketing machines by year's end

Bus ticketing machines will start being installed on buses by the end of this month, Transport Minister Censu Galea said yesterday.

When contacted, Mr Galea said the machines are expected to have been installed on all the buses - 508 in Malta and 78 in Gozo - by the end of this year.

They are also expected to start being put up at different bus termini by the end of this month.

The Public Transport Directorate yesterday placed a newspaper advert inviting interested parties to make proposals for advertising on the "initial 10,000 stored value contact cards which will be introduced with the new bus ticketing system".

The first tender for the machines was issued in 1995, but in the run-up to the 1996 general elections it became a major political controversy, after the Labour Party alleged wrong doing in the tendering process.

In February last year, the Transport Ministry set about appointing an adjudicating committee to assess eight new offers submitted for the supply of the ticketing machines.

Last October, Mr Galea said the tender had finally been awarded and the machines were expected to be installed in "the coming weeks".

When asked what led to the delay, Mr Galea said there had been a slight difficulty with the bus owners over a clause regarding implementation.

Mr Galea explained that in 1995 there had been a clause which stipulated that there would be an additional charge of one cent if a passenger opted to buy the bus ticket from the driver instead of the machine.

"This clause had been introduced so as to limit the inconvenience to the driver and to limit contact between passenger and driver," he said.

"Since there was an increase in the price of bus tickets in 1998, some had suggested that this clause be removed.

"However, it has been decided to keep the clause and our difficulties with the bus drivers have been ironed out.

"Obviously, this one cent charge will not be enforceable until the ticketing machines are installed on the buses," Mr Galea said.