From the online comments

Traffic gridlock is Malta’s biggest problem: Times of Malta poll

The rising cost of living is also on people’s minds

It is good to monitor these opinions – it is sad that the country does not manage to really act on them. The numbers move around but the top five have been super consistent for years and years.

Curious that PL voters are not that concerned about corruption… Do they think the alleged scandals of the last few years are not real or  do they think it is not a big deal as long as the economy keeps growing? – Andrew Cutajar

Traffic is the main concern in Malta. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Make remote working (working from home) a reality for all those jobs that permit it. It’s a win-win. Stop delaying decisions. – K. Zahra

I find it highly ironic that traffic is the main concern in Malta while the PM is telling us we need bigger families.

Strictly from an observational perspective, I note that a family of four (with two teenagers) often have four cars. So, it is not far-fetched to imagine a family of five needing five cars.

While I understand that Maltese are helpless without their cars, with their cars there is no need for petrol as cars will no longer be able to move. – Alan Zelt

Interesting. The following is a list of countries and territories by motor vehicles per capita. Malta is 11th out of 182 countries.

1. San Marino; 2. Guernsey (UK); 3. Gibraltar (UK); 4. Jersey (UK); 5. Andorra; 6. Lichtenstein; 7. Brunei; 8. Taiwan; 9. New Zealand; 10. USA and 11. Malta. – Judit Bokros  

One question is: Why are so many cars being added when showrooms are full of unsold cars. The first step is to sell what stock they have and if, and only if, required, a vehicle is ordered if the seller doesn’t have one available.

Flexible working hours and working from home are the way forward. And using larger buses to collect children going to school: one coach = 53 children, takes three maybe four minibuses off the road. It’s not rocket science. – Agatha Brayley

The only solution to combat the traffic problem is for companies to introduce remote working. Those jobs which can be done from home should be done from home. There is absolutely no point in putting someone behind a monitor in another building across the island when he can stay put and do the same job without commuting and contributing to the congestion. From all the suggested “measures” this is the only one that would truly make a difference. – A. Dimech

All the issues mentioned in the poll are of national concern, brought on by an incompetent government. There is unity in the poll’s result, irrelevant of being red, blue or green. Life in Malta is becoming unbearable. – Laurence Saliba