Ministry claims PTA 'hid' details of bus service talks

The Infrastructure Ministry has accused the bus owners' association of having hidden the details of talks it had with the government from its own members.

In a statement issued in reply to comments by PL leader Joseph Muscat, the ministry denied that no consultation had been made with the Public Transport Association (PTA), which represents the bus owners. Several meetings were held and there was a lengthy exchange of correspondence, it said.

The ministry insisted that it was not imposing a conclusion to those talks, but it had told the bus owners that if they wanted a 10-year job guarantee with the new operator and if they wanted to sell their buses so that their newer ones could continue to be used, they needed to declare their interest.

The government, however, could only make this offer if it had a final decision by the bus owners by this Wednesday.

This, the ministry said, was not an ultimatum but a date which the PTA had known about for four months. But the association had hidden the details of its talks with the government from its own members, the ministry claimed.

The PTA is to hold a general meeting for its members tonight.