Editorial: Breaking Malta’s chronic car addiction

Malta’s love affair with the car is decades old, a deeply ingrained cultural norm that clogs our roads and pollutes our air. In the last three months of 2024, the number of vehicles on Maltese roads increased – on average – by 27 every day. There’s good reason why traffic consistently ranks among people’s top concerns.

Against the background of mayhem, Transport Minister Chris Bonnet’s plan to reduce traffic and car dependency is a welcome intervention. The incentives offered – from substantial cash grants to give up your driving licence to grants to encourage youngsters to drive scooters instead of cars – represent a bold attempt to nudge a car-obsessed nation towards alternative modes of transport.

The promise of €25,000 over five years for those who give up their driving licence and car ownership is a significant carrot. For many, particularly older drivers or those with limited need to drive, this could outweigh the costs associated with owning and maintaining a car, especially since we now have more accessible and affordable cab services. The government should be commended for tapping into the fact that car ownership is ultimately a financial burden. Yet we still need to see the finer details of this scheme.

Similarly, the €6,000 grant for 17-year-olds who choose scooters over car licences until the age of 21 is a smart move. It targets a demographic whose transport habits are still forming, potentially weaning them off the assumption that car ownership is a rite of passage. But, as a vox pop with young people showed last week, obsession with driving a car starts from a young age.

Which is another reason why these incentives cannot succeed if they operate in a vacuum with no disincentives.

The government needs to wield both the carrot and a strategically applied stick

The government’s reluctance to introduce measures that would make car use less attractive – such as introducing some form of street parking fee, the odd/even numberplate scheme, the reduction of fuel subsidies, and higher taxes on fuel-guzzling vehicles – significantly undermines the potential impact of the incentives.

The elephant in the room remains Malta’s lack of a viable mass transit system, with a proposed metro system unveiled in 2021 clearly nothing more than an electoral gimmick. It’s time for the government to seriously study the viability of a tram-like system.

Meanwhile, we are left with an over-burdened bus service struggling to cope with existing demand. If the government’s plan succeeds in reducing car numbers, the inevitable surge in public transport usage will only exacerbate the current overcrowding issues. Which means we need parallel investment in expanding and modernising our bus network.

It may take years – perhaps an entire generation – for people to fully embrace green initiatives like cycling, but should it be such a big deal to even embrace walking? The government can accelerate this shift by investing in pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, and by ensuring unobstructed and safe pavements. Yet, given the current free-for-all attitude where it comes to construction as well as pavement cafes, we’re not holding our breath.

Mandating green travel plans for big companies and actively encouraging teleworking, even for just one day a week, could yield significant reductions in rush-hour congestion.

Finally, the issue of basic enforcement of traffic regulations cannot be overstated. The daily sight of double-parked cars obstructing traffic flow and the lack of urgency in resolving bumper-to-bumper accidents is exacerbating the problem. Stricter enforcement is a low-hanging fruit that could immediately improve traffic flow without requiring any investment.

To truly break Malta’s car habit, the government needs to wield both the carrot and a strategically applied stick. The time for half-measures is over, but in reality, each of us car users need to take a good look at ourselves before complaining about a problem we are actively contributing to.