The Transport Ministry has failed to confirm or deny claims that the apparent preferred bidder for the public transport service – Autobuses Urbanos de Leon – is asking for a number of conditions that might not be agreeable to the government.

Sources told The Malta Independent that the Spanish transport company wants its Malta drivers and mechanics to be Spanish. This demand is apparently linked to the dire economic situation in Spain.

This paper is also informed that the company is asking to change some of the bus routes, but it seems that, according to the Expression of Interest, the routes must remain unchanged. It is also being claimed that the public transport service contract will be worth some €29 million.

In all this paper sent four questions to the transport Ministry to try to verify these claims but only one question, about claims made by PN MP Anthoy Bezzina, was answered. The rest were not. 

No breach of conditions