It has been promised for years and finally the date has been set for free public transport for all residents in Malta.
From October next year, anyone with a Tallinja card can ride a bus without paying anything.
The Budget 2022 measure will cost the taxpayer at least €5 million for the first three months in subsidising ticket fares and other costs – according to the financial estimates.
Spending on the Tallinja card will rise from the current €3.8 million to €8.6 million next year.
But Transport Minister Ian Borg told parliament on Tuesday it will mean more people will use public transport by reaching a “new bracket of people”.
Finance Minister Clyde Caruana says it is the “next step” in reducing congestion.
Critics, however, doubt it will have the promised impact.
Professor Maria Attard, director of the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development at the University of Malta suggests the incentive of ‘free’ transport won’t encourage huge numbers to switch to public transport.
“The most pressing issues surrounding public transport use in Malta are not related to price – many indeed already travel for free or at highly subsidized prices,” she said.
“They are related to service unreliability, schedule and, to a lesser extent, network design (routes).”
The measure would only be successful if the service quality is high, which would require bus lanes to improve transport times, enforcement to remove illegal parking from roadways and better infrastructure at bus stops.
“Only when this will be achieved, the bus operator can be asked to increase the service provision in areas with high demand.”
Indeed Attard predicts that there will be “further congestion” in the future, not because of free public transport, but because of “the lack of restraint or disincentive on the use of the car”.
She points to other countries who have tried free public transport and says that there is still “no strong evidence that free public transport has resolved environmental or traffic problems”.
Studies from Santiago, Germany, Tallinn and Luxembourg, who have all offered free public transport, indicated little change in car travel overall, she said.
“Without proper and effective car restraint policies, a measure such as ‘free’ public transport will not be sustainable.”
Commuters at Valletta Bus Terminal, who currently use the service told Times of Malta that while the measure is a good incentive, more needs to be done to make it work.
Milos, a Serbian resident who uses public transport every day, it could cut waiting times at bus stops.
“Sometimes you end up waiting for people to give the correct amount to the driver, and this could take a good 10 minutes – minutes where you end up being late for work,” he said.
Charlo Cutajar, also believes the incentive will encourage more people to opt for the bus. “I end up spending over €8 a week on buses, I believe more people will go for this incentive - you know the Maltese, first their pocket and we enjoy saving money,” he said.
But he said it was important the buses become more frequent and accessible if the measure is to work.
“There are times I end up late for work, or the bus does not stop at all,” he said.
His comments reflected what Ruth, a Scottish resident who has been catching buses for the past six years, said.
“Sometimes it’s hard to tell if the bus will be turning up at all which can be stressful if you need to go to work. If it does happen, you end up catching a taxi,” she said.