Fuel prices hike 'exacerbates' bus owners' lot

The latest increase in fuel prices adds another straw on the back of the Malta Transport Association, its president, Victor Spiteri, said yesterday.

The price of diesel (widely used for public transport) went up by 2c1 due to a rise in the price of oil and a reversal in the favourable trend of a weaker US dollar last week.

Speaking to The Times yesterday, Mr Spiteri said the added fuel prices would increase costs for bus owners and drivers "at a time when we are negotiating with the government on the subsidy for the current year".

Mr Spiteri said the ATP had been on the verge of ordering a general bus strike last week after its requests for an increase in the subsidy given to bus operators was not met by the Malta Transport Authority (ADT).

Both parties had agreed last October to negotiate a sum which would close that financial year, pending a revamp of the system through which state subsidies were being handed over to bus operators.

The ATP proposed that subsidies for this year would be negotiated once the proposed revamp had not taken place yet.

"The ADT accepted our proposal but the amount being proposed by the government this time was not acceptable to us," Mr Spiteri said.

The industrial action was suspended after the parties accepted the intervention of two mediators. Discussions were expected to continue over the next four weeks, Mr Spiteri said.

The ATP would "review its position" on whether to call a bus strike if negotiations end without an agreement, he said.

According to Mr Spiteri, the adjustment in ticket prices which came into effect as of this year had not been enough to reflect the increase in costs incurred by bus operators. The fuel increase, the third one in the span of a year, was a significant burden on ATP members, along with the cost of living increase and the eco tax.

When contacted yesterday, an ADT spokesman said talks with the ATP were underway and were expected to be finalised over the coming weeks.

The Federation of Industry said in a statement yesterday that industrialists catering of the export market are concerned that their products might not be able to compete with foreign alternatives particularly in those countries having alternative sources of energy.