Updated 12.30pm
Would you park your car at Ta’ Qali and then get a shuttle bus to the University?
What if young people were incentivised to not learn how to drive?
Is it a good idea to open up school car parks to residential parking at nighttime?
Those are all ideas that Chris Bonett’s transport ministry would like to implement, which the minister formally unveiled on Saturday for public feedback.
Implementation, though, will be a multi-year process: a timeline the minister presented suggested measures will only be introduced in the second half of 2026 – almost two years from now.
He later clarified that some of the measures proposed will be implemented before that, over the next 18 months.
A priority measure, he said, will be finding a way of shifting public services like road works and waste collection to off-peak hours.
The measures span all aspects of transportation, from cycling strategy documents to plans to overhaul Malta’s public bus routes, and are focused on incentivising behavioural change rather than punishing road users, the minister said.
Bonett had hinted at some of the measures in an interview with Times of Malta in September, and last week Times of Malta exclusively revealed another of his plans, to introduce park-and-ride facilities for congested town centres.
On Saturday, he delved into those measures in greater depth and listed them under a series of “policy pillars”.
The press conference - which lasted for almost two hours - was transmitted live on social media channels. However, the feed ended before journalists were allowed to ask questions to Bonett about his plan.
Vague talk of mass bus transit system
The minister also said that the government will be setting up a task force responsible for assessing the viability of a Bus Rapid Transit system – effectively a bus network with dedicated road lanes and infrastructure – but emphasised the idea is still at an embryonic phase.
"We need to get it right on the first go," he said of the idea.
He made no mention of the government’s previous proposal for mass transportation, a multi-billion underground metro system, which it unveiled in October 2021 only to never discuss it again.
When pressed by Times of Malta, the minister insisted the metro plan was not a political gimmick.
"The metro would have brought a huge financial burden at a time when the country and Europe faced rising inflation and economic hardship," he said.
The bulk of his press conference, however, focused on more concrete measures that Bonett has discussed with social partners.
The aim, he said, is to allow the public and local councils to have their say about the proposals until the end of this year.
The ministry will then decide, by April 2025, on the measures it intends to press ahead with.
Implemention will take a while, though, and is forecast for the third quarter of 2026.
Measures proposed
24-hour economy measures:
1. Road Services and waste collection to happen outside peak hours
2. Retail, manufacturing, hospitality and construction sectors to not use roads during peak hours
3. A Ro-Ro service from the Malta Freeport will ship goods directly to Gozo, bypassing road trips to Cirkewwa
Vehicles:
1. Incentives for people to surrender their driving licences
2. Incentives for youths not to obtain a driving licence
3. Incentives to only use private vehicles in off-peak hours
4. Incentives for work carpooling to be improved (minimum of 4)
The minister declined to provide specifics about the incentives being considered, saying these need to first be discussed with stakeholders. But, he said, the finance minister has pledged €5 million to bankroll the incentives once they are rolled out.
Parking:
1. Park-and-ride facilities to congested town centres. The minister cited Paola as a case in point, suggesting parking lots at Addolorata Cemetery, MCAST and the Pace Grasso football stadium could all be used for park-and-ride facilities on weekends. And that would then allow Paola square to be “by and large” pedestrianised, he said.
2. Parking lots in public spaces like schools to be made available at night. This measure has already been implemented in Qawra and Marsascala, where schools are used as public carparks at night.
3. Expressions of interest to encourage technology-minded solutions to help solve traffic and parking problems
The minister noted that ferry services between Valletta, Sliema and the Three Cities were proving popular but users were often discouraged by a lack of parking in ferry landing spots. That was being tackled, he said.
The minister addressing the press on Saturday. Photo: DOIPublic transport:
1. Bus routes to industrial estates – this should happen “ASAP”, the minister said.
2. Circular bus routes in large localities
3. New direct bus routes
4. A total overhaul of national bus routes in the medium-term
Roadworks:
1. Better coordination of roadworks through roadworks committee
2. New standards and procedures for road works
Sustainable mobility:
1. A national cycling strategy
2. ‘Walking school buses’
3. A 'sustainable movement ambassador' who will work with an advisory committee responsible for proposing solutions to the government.
The public can provide feedback on the proposals, or suggest different measures, by visiting https://www.reshapingourmobility.com. Feedback will be accepted until December 31.