Transport Minister Joe Mizzi this evening promised that no bus drivers will lose their job when a hand-over of the public transport system is made.
He was addressing another Gvern li jisma public consultation meeting held in St George's square Valletta. He made no reference to the court case which has halted the signing of a contract for the provision of bus services as from January with a Spanish company. A Maltese consortium instituted legal proceedings after finding out that the terms being discussed are not consonant with the terms of reference in the tender call. Neither did he give any assurance that the new service will be in place in January, a target established by the government.
The Minister said that drivers with bad attitudes will need to improve their manners and bring them to the same level as foreign drivers. He added that a call for applications for drivers has been issued so anyone who wants to become a driver can apply.
"Transport and infrastructure affects everyone and if a bad decision is made it affects a lot of people. I will keep meeting with those who want to talk about it. This does not mean that every suggestion is a good one. I discuss with experts and technical people to see the best options of the advice given by people".
"This problem (of traffic and public transport) didn't come overnight, we inherited it and we need to see how to move forward".
"We need to get people's faith in public transport. We gave a chance for everyone to give their opinions on the service and the main suggestions regarded the routes. The local councils agreed with all the routes and we brought these recommendations to Arriva. It then appeared that Arriva was heavily in debt and they asked for a lot of money to work those routes which we didn't want to pay, and they wanted out. The agreement then came where we took over responsibility for the bus service. We reduced the loss in funds for the transport service since taking over. We reduced the cost of maintenance for example. 297 vehicles in 2013 ended up with smoke coming from their engines yet this went down to 100 this year".
He reminded people that the public transport system was bankrupt before coming into government. It was obvious that major mistakes were made and we wanted to ensure that such problems to not occur again. We want a system that the people deserve.
"I admit traffic is there, the problem is there. Our infrastructure was not good 7 years ago let alone now. We are taking steps and meet with the police regularly to discuss traffic management. A lot of money and manpower would be needed to handle this situation and the number of cars on the road at certain times of day are too high. We have a number of short term strategies such as the upgrading of junctions, car pooling and one-way roads. Then there are medium-term strategies such as bus lanes and long-term strategies to address traffic".
He addressed a question regarding the opposition claiming that works will take place to satisfy the One news station in Marsa through the Marsa project. He said that Marsa sees a lot of traffic when an accident occurs and as such this needs to be addressed.
The Minister mentioned an electronic security measure to later be implemented, comprising of electronic signs to help illuminate diversions, whether roads are closed etc.
Punishment for those who litter
The Minister again apologised for the traffic caused by the works around the Lija roundabout however explained that the drainage problem has been there for years and is a problem that needs to be solved. "We found many problems, such as unmarked electricity cables and constant drain leakages thus slowing progress, however there are only a few weeks of works left".
With regards to those charged with cleaning, he said that the department is practically working round the clock to clean up areas where tourists frequent. From January to October, the cleansing directorate collected around 12,000 tonnes of rubbish. "It is important to educate the public not to litter our country and in fact such campaigns have already begun. We will install cameras and begin to take steps against those who litter," he said.
A Public Private Partnership will occur to handle road maintenance he added.