Public transport in Malta : route bus service

Abstract

It seems that the route-bus service - the only local means of public transport in the strict sense of the word - has never been the subject of any study in Malta. In approaching this subject which is constantly talked about in the press and elsewhere it seems that I am venturing in a field previously unknown. The subject is conspicuous by the lack of material available. For this reason, generalisations, particularly in a paper of not more than 20,000 words dealing with a theme never previously dealt with, cannot be avoided. To make matters worse official information (statistics, reports. etc.) are sadly lacking making the task even more difficult. This is indeed greatly deplorable. Another point to be raised here is that the administrative problem of public transport has a large technical component. Therefore, information in this respect has had to be obtained from technical people. The subject of this paper is strictly the route-bus-service in Malta and it therefore excludes, the taxi-service, Malta-Gozo ferry service and the Gozo bus service. One final remark: the public transport problem - it has become accepted as such by a vast majority - is characterised by the significant vested interest in the various ramifications of the service. The problem has been ignored for so long that it has become chronic and if ever the authorities concerned decide to take the bull by the horns the whole affair must be carried out with the greatest caution possible. The proposals outlined in this paper are only 'skeleton' proposal (this is due to the limitation of 20,000 words) and the 'flesh' has to be built around the skeleton by qualified people.