Registrations for Tallinja bus cards rose by about 50% in the run-up to Saturday, October 1, when using the buses became free for all residents of Malta.

“We usually have an average of about 4,000 registrations per month but in September there were over 6,700 new registrations,” a spokesperson for Malta Public Transport said yesterday.

The government had pledged to make buses free during last year’s budget. It is the second country in Europe, after Luxembourg, to do so.

All routes – standard, night and specialised – are now free of charge for residents, who must possess a valid Tallinja card to board without paying. The general response among commuters was positive yesterday, the first day of the free service.

Times of Malta encountered no issues on the way to Valletta – a simple tap of the Tallinja card did not drain any of the card’s remaining balance. 

A number of passengers welcomed the fact it would leave more money in their pocket at the end of the month. 

“What’s good is that sometimes the money would run out of my card and I would have to top it up. Obviously, as a student, money is what it is, so the fact that I’ll have a bit more for myself is good,” said 16-year-old Mattei.

'One less thing to worry about spending money on'

Gurpitson, who was on his way to work, was looking forward to having one less thing to worry about spending money on. 

“It’s good because before I used to have to put around €30 per month on the card, so free is better,” he said. 

Alison said she would use the buses more often: “I think the fact that it’s free does make a difference and more people might be tempted to use it.

“Now that it is free, I think more than ever it needs to be more efficient than it has ever been,” she added. “If we seriously want to reduce traffic from our streets, I think things like routes and timetables do need to improve.”

Maja, who moved to Malta three weeks ago, said: “I think it’s a very good initiative for Malta because transport in general is difficult. It’s very hard to get from one place to another. It will definitely be good for my pocket and I will be going around the island more.” 

Data suggests that commuters in Malta are never more than a 15-minute walk to a bus stop but many remain reluctant to use public transport, citing concerns about reliability and delays.