The people who need to travel to and from Gozo for essential errands, or for work or study, face some challenging options, especially at a time of increased economic pressures.
Time is money.
Most people can no longer afford to spend an hour to get to Ċirkewwa and another half an hour waiting for the ‘slow’ ferry before crossing to Mġarr for the third and final leg home.
Politicians often compete to promise new travel solutions for those commuting between the two islands. Some solutions appear reasonable but at other times they are clearly not viable. Currently, there are plans for a fixed-wing small aircraft airfield and, in the longer term, for a tunnel connecting the two islands.
It remains to be seen whether these projects will ever be implemented. If they are, they will complement the Ċirkewwa-Mġarr Gozo Channel ferry and the more recent fast-ferry services offered by two private operators from Valletta.
The two fast-ferry companies, Virtu Ferries and Gozo Fast Ferry, recently announced new winter schedules for trips from Valletta to Gozo with significantly reduced crossings.
They claim to be operating unprofitably. Unsurprisingly, the Gozo business community and Gozitan students studying at the University of Malta have complained bitterly about this service reduction.
In a joint statement, the Gozo and transport ministries announced that the fast ferry will be offered free to patients receiving care in hospital. This can be classified as essential travel. They also said the service operators have been facing “extraordinary difficulties caused by the effects of ongoing international crisis”.
As a result, the government is in discussions on how it can better support the service. It is talking to the EU competition authorities on its plan to provide a two-year public contract valued at €12 million to assist both operators.
The EU has schemes to extend state aid to private transport operators that provide essential connectivity to islands. Ireland, Greece and Spain all benefit from such schemes. It is therefore likely that the EU competition authorities will look favourably upon the government’s request to subsidise the fast-ferry companies.
It would be crucial, though, that the interests of Maltese taxpayers are given due importance when deciding how their money will be used to support travel between the two islands, essential or otherwise.
What is essential is not the same as what is desirable or affordable. Fiscal pressures mean that the ministry of finance has to juggle different priorities to give the best socio-economic outcomes to the government’s various spending projects.
The Gozo business lobbies understandably aspire to have frequent connections between the two islands, with as many convenient options as possible. But they do need to ask themselves whether what they’re asking for is essential or merely desirable. Is it a case of having their cake and eating it? Are their aspirations realistic?
What also needs to be challenged is the idea that the two private ferry companies can operate competitively with no economic risk because the taxpayer will provide a safety net if they fail to make a profit. The government must ask if two operators are needed to provide this service when experience has so far proven that there is massive overcapacity in their joint operations.
While there is a good chance the government will pass the EU test in its plan to support the fast-ferry operations, it must also make sure that taxpayer-funded subsidies are only considered for truly deserving causes; even if the expectations of travellers and service providers may be much higher.