Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works Chris Bonett announces measures to mitigate traffic

During a press conference, Minister for Transport,Chris Bonett presented a set of measures aimed at “alleviating traffic congestion.” These include a grant of €25,000 if you surrender your license and car for 5 years.

The Minister said that these measures are based on a number of proposals announced in recent months along with a series of public consultations and bilateral meetings where over 600 ideas were submitted through the website reshapingourmobility.com.

He said that a detailed analysis and study was carried out so that under seven pillars, these are the main measures:

The first pillar incorporates measures to limit the use of vehicles, with a number of incentives and grants offered including:

• A grant of €25,000 if you surrender your license and car license for 5 years.

• A grant of €1,500 per year for 4 years for 17-year-olds who ride a small scooter and don’t obtain a motor vehicle license until the age of 21.

• A grant of €6,000 if you surrender your license and use a scooter for 4 years.

• A grant of up to €1,000 if you repurchase a motorbike.

• Parking for University students who car-pool and carry 2 or more passengers with them.

• Better incentive for employers who promote transport for workers.

The second pillar is a 24-hour economy where a number of measures address public and private services to be carried out during off-peak hours. The Government said that it will lead by example with changes in the timing of services such as waste collection, street cleaning and public services such as paying for licenses at TM.

• Waste collection and street cleaning during off-peak hours.

• Off-peak service in the public and private sectors.

• Study on a new cargo ferry service from Kordin and Freeport apart from Cirkewwa to Gozo.

The third pillar offers solutions for parking in communities.

• Park and ride services offered by various localities.

• Digital solutions for parking and for those who make use of car-pooling.

• A national strategy aimed at increasing parking for motorcycles, EVs and scooters.

The fourth pillar concerns public transport, with new and more frequent routes.

• New routes for industrial areas.

• Review of a number of routes to improve their connectivity and frequency.

• Review the bus route network and study public transport routes.

The fifth pillar is the improvement of the coordination of works between all the entities concerned and infrastructure projects on the roads.

• Standard Operating Procedures are created for all those involved including the entities, contractors and local councils.

• An annual works plan is drawn up.

The sixth pillar promotes methods for travelling by alternative modes of transport.

• The National Cycling Strategy is concluded.

• A national strategy is developed to promote walking.

• A committee is created and an ambassador for alternative mobility is appointed.

The seventh pillar concerns remote-working where in principle, there seems to be public agreement that this helps to alleviate the traffic problem.

• A discussion is initiated with the social partners through the MCESD to identify the most effective way in which remote-working is incentivised in the private sector.

Minister Chris Bonett stated that “in recent months a broad public participation exercise has been concluded, where the aim was to put on the table a set of proposals to change the way we look at transport, not only with infrastructure but also habits, practices and accessibility.”

He continued by saying that, “the introduction of these measures will be spread over eighteen months with a transition process, a coordination plan between different entities and, in some cases, even changes to the legislative framework which together will continue to directly address traffic congestion.”

Information on the measures, including new bus services proposed, can be accessed by clicking here.

Photo: DOI/Clifton Fenech

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