Vehicle licence renewals to be made over the internet

The Transport Authority (ADT) is considering new ways to improve efficiency in the renewal of vehicle licences, including the use of the Internet, Transport Minister Jesmond Mugliett told Parliament yesterday .

Speaking during the debate on a motion for the House to approve the ADT's financial estimates, Mr Mugliett said the authority generated revenue of Lm36.5 million, Lm36m of which went to the consolidated fund, making it one of the government's three biggest revenue earners along with the Inland Revenue and VAT departments.

The authority, he said, also managed extraordinarily large funds, especially this year because of the funding of almost Lm17m from Italy and the EU for road rebuilding.

One of the major challenges it was facing was the assimilation of work practices of a workforce that came from at least three different sources: the former Public Transport Authority, which dealt with public transport only, government departments and just 64 people who came from direct recruitment. But a collective agreement was in the offing and would help to make the workforce more homogenous.

Mr Mugliett reviewed the work of the ADT's various directorates. Referring to the Licensing Directorate, he said the authority had already simplified procedures currently in use and deployed more people to man the desks. Steps were being taken to launch a computerised system that, among other items, would enable licences to be paid by Internet, thereby reducing queues considerably. The new system would also involve insurance agencies.

One major EU-emanating challenge for the ADT was the issue of environmental problems caused by traffic, but the authority had already taken this up.

A new driving test had also been introduced. The more rigorous procedures would lead to better driver education and less accidents, with the overall aim being to reduce fatalities by 50 per cent.

The authority was also working on a traffic accident reporting system that would lead to improvements in particular sections of the road network.

The authority was working on guidelines for various aspects of traffic management, even through talks with local councils.

Nationalist MP Mario Galea said six double-decker coaches had been in Malta for a long time without being granted a permit for use. A rethinking on this issue was overdue and such vehicles should be used for touristic purposes. He did not believe these vehicles would take work from other operators. It made no sense not to licence double-decker coaches in Malta when double-decker tourist coaches from Europe had been used as part of tours here.

Mr Galea urged the ADT to speed up work on the installation of traffic lights at the junction of Tal-Barrani road with the road to Zejtun.

He also insisted that shelter should be provided for the karozzini (cabs) horses at Valletta. Indeed, it was a shame that after having enacted a law against animal cruelty, those horses were still without shelter.

Mr Galea said the government should also consider liberalising the granting of permits for karozzini. At present, the transfer of a karozzin licence was going for Lm5-7,000.

David Agius (PN) insisted that the ADT should beef up its public relations. The authority was doing a lot of important work which the people did not know about. The authority also needed to improve warning signs ahead of road works.

He said the authority should publish its programme of road works for the coming years so the people could know what to expect.

He also suggested that licence renewals should be staggered. They should not all expire at the end of the month, inevitably creating long queues.

He also suggested that there should be positive discrimination for the elderly through the granting of reserved parking spaces for those aged over 75. This would be in keeping with the social aim of keeping the elderly active in the community.

Labour MP Carmelo Abela, deputising for Charles Buhagiar, called for better traffic management and said the generally poor state of the roads was on everybody's lips.

He said the government had not kept its pre-election promise to repair more than 100 roads in eight years. Last year there were not more than 28 roads that had been tackled. Only 27 local councils had agreements with the ADT to carry out works on unbuilt roads themselves, the authority meeting the costs.

Before 1996 the Nationalist government had left many unpaid contractors who then called on the Labour government to pay up.

Mr Abela said he agreed with the ADT chairman's introduction to the annual report that it was more important to aim for higher standards of road building so that they could last for 25 years. Better coordination, however, was needed among the various corporations, especially the WSC and Enemalta. Services should be passed under pavements, not under roads.

It was good that the ADT was inspecting tunnels and bridges. The reports had been completed and were rather disquieting. The tenders would be out soon so that work could go ahead with enhanced safety for traffic, but continuous monitoring was needed to ensure that tunnels and bridges remained safe.

Better rainwater management was also needed, because even light rainfall was making some roads impassable.

Mr Abela asked why Architect Robert Sant was working as a works supervisor on roads when the ADT had a full complement of architects.

On the VRT, which is now compulsory on all aspects of the vehicle, Mr Abela asked if it would have been better to first upgrade the roads.

He referred to the new driving test, saying that while he was not against the new format, candidates should not be failed because of minor infringements.

Turning to public transport, he said it made no sense to raise bus fares while seeking to encourage more people to leave their cars at home and use the buses. Bus lanes were a plus point in certain areas but they were clearly impractical in others, creating congestion.

Mr Abela also complained that roads upgrading in the south was non-existent.

Concluding, he urged the ADT to intervene with school transport operators so that students would not be taken to school very early.

Jose' Herrera (MLP) said that the authority was expected to generate Lm36.5 million, a decrease of Lm800,000 from last year. It was estimated that there would be a decrease of Lm1.7 million in expenditure.

The authority would have a deficit of Lm500,000 after paying its share to the government. Did it make sense for the authority to contribute more than it generated?

Dr Herrera queried the Lm40,000 allocated to the corporate strategy directorate as consultation fees. Why were such consultants needed when there were full-time professionals, like lawyers and accountants?

Justyne Caruana (MLP) said it was not fair for Gozo pensioners, holders of the Kartanzjan, not to benefit from government subsidies and lower bus fares.

Neither was it fair for the bus owners to absorb the difference of seven cents between the normal rate and the reduced rate paid by workers. The Gozo Bus Transport Association has asked that the reduced rate be abolished and this would mean that workers would be paying more.

It was not viable for bus owners in Gozo to be made to decide whether to work on scheduled or non-scheduled services as was being suggested.

She observed that Gozo taxi drivers had taken the authority to court regarding its decision that they could only use their taxis in Malta in certain, limited instances like when they took people to hospital. The court had decreed in their favour but notwithstanding, Gozitan taxi drivers were still not being allowed in Malta.

As a result, Gozitan taxi drivers could work anywhere in Europe, except Malta. The same applied to Gozitan mini-bus drivers.

It was not fair for Gozitans to be discriminated against in this manner.

Marie-Louise Coleiro (MLP) said that the authority should be proactive and influence government policies. It was not enough to have an authority well versed in traffic management. It should gauge how government transport policies were affecting the public.

The EU social inclusion report clearly said that insensitive measures could impinge on social inclusion. The government's policy in increasing bus fares was limiting the ability of the unemployed to look for jobs. The fares were so high that in some cases it was better not to work and receive social benefits.

High transport costs was also affecting the elderly and young mothers with children.

The National Action Plan on Poverty also said that the people were also being affected by high bus fares.

Roderick Galdes (MLP) said much more needed to be done for commuters to be fully served.

What was the authority doing to safeguard the environment? There was no impetus in landscaping of urban roads.

The authority did not have any concrete policy on arterial roads passing through areas which were once valleys, like Qormi and Birkirkara.

If used efficiently, public transport could act as a good environmental safeguard. But government policies were forcing more private cars on the road.

The authority should also address the issue of the disposal of vehicles that were scrapped. Malta still did not have an EU-standard scrapyard.

Concluding, Mr Galdes said that some non-urban roads were being given a concrete surface without anybody knowing what damage was being made to the ecological or archaeological aspects.

Winding up, Mr Mugliett said Mepa would be issuing limited permits for some scrapyards.

On the ADT's budget, he said actual revenue generated this year compared well with last year's. There were decreases in registration tax and the government subvention.

Total recurrent expenditure was practically the same as last year.

Mr Mugliett said professional fees amounted to Lm58,000, of which Lm21,000 were legal fees. The authority did not have its own lawyers.

Mr Mugliett referred to Mr Agius's suggestion, saying it was not realistic to grant reserved parking to all the elderly because the roads were already restricted and there were serious parking problems in several areas.

The number of roads upgraded last year could have been more were it not for a disagreement between the authority and road contractors over costs.

Mr Mugliett said closer coordination was in place between the authority and the utility providers.

Turning to Gozo, Mr Mugliett said that the division between scheduled and un-scheduled works was needed. It was not possible for the same driver to have three shifts, two on scheduled and one on non-scheduled work.

Concluding, Mr Mugliett said that the number of initiatives that the authority was taking were proof enough of its seriousness. The system of garage-hire vehicles was being overhauled but the things that would make the difference would be the introduction of a system that would let one know when buses would pass through certain localities.

The government, he said, was planning to ensure that works on roads funded by the EU in the 2007 budget would be taken in hand as soon as the funds were released.

Concluding, he said that it was hoped that the perception of poor roads in Malta would start changing once the current tranche of road works approached their completion in October.