The government plans to make ferry crossings in the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett free for Maltese residents, transport minister Aaron Farrugia said.

“We are looking to make sea transport free through the Tallinja Card... we want to experiment to remove charges for crossings from Cospicua to Valletta, from Valletta to Sliema, and so on,” Farrugia said.  

Currently, there is a regular ferry service every 30 minutes between the three cities and Valletta and from the capital city to Sliema.

The service continues until midnight in summer and 7.30pm in winter.

Since October, anyone with a Tallinja card can travel on Malta’s buses for free.

In an interview with Malta Today published on Sunday, Farrugia said the government will expand the free service to include sea travel.  

“We want to incentivise those who use the sea for their daily commute,” Farrugia said.   

Although such “powerful incentive” will cost money, it is a “smart investment”, Farrugia said.   

He said the government has invested in a new “state of the art terminal” in Cospicua and a new terminal in Sliema will be operational in the first quarter of 2024.   

A new ferry terminal in St Paul’s Bay will serve the Gozo fast ferry.