The moving of goal posts is what led the Maltese consortium that bid to run Malta's bus services to feel disadvantaged compared to the Spanish company which eventually was chosen, lawyer Nicholas Valenzia, who appeared on behalf of Island Buses, today told a civil court.

Island Buses filed a warrant of prohibitory injunction against Transport Malta and the government to stop the government from signing a contract with Spanish operators Autobuses de Leon. Both the parties involved were presenting their submissions in court.

Dr Valenzia said that Minister Joe Mizzi’s comments to a newspaper that Autobuses de Leon would be given €23 million in subsidies meant that the government was giving a concession which was not listed in the call for expression of interest.

He argued that if his clients known that the government would sit down and renegotiate the terms and conditions, they would have made a different bid.

But the lawyers of TM and the government, Dr Louis Degabriele and Dr Paul Lia, argued that the minister’s comments to a journalist in no way meant that this was cast in stone since negotiations are still under way and things can change.

He said that Island Buses knew very well that they could have opted for a different option.

Dr Valenzia said the fact that Autobuses would start off giving a partial service and not a fully fledged service also meant that the goal posts had been moved once again since it had been stated in the EOI that the chosen provider would start off by giving a full service immediately.

On filing the injunction, Island Buses had said that Transport Malta exercised discretion beyond the scope of the powers conferred upon it by the EOI and the law.

Transport minister Joe Mizzi is under fire by the Opposition for going to Spain to negotiate with the preferred bidder to run the public transport system.

At the start of the sitting, Transport Malta CEO James Piscopo confirmed that the authority always had the intention to engage in a concession agreement and share purchase agreement with the preferred bidder.

Quoting Mr Mizzi, Dr Valenzia said that he (Mizzi) was reported saying that for the year to come, ‘we have already agreed what the subsidy is, 23 million euros, but for the years to come we have to see because more vehicles have to be purchased’.

Dr Valenzia said that it is obvious that the fixed annual subsidy is going to vanish into thin air since further investment will bring about the need for more subsidies.

Dr Lia said that Island Buses are pocketing €30,000 a day by renting out their buses to the government but Dr Valenzia counter argued that his clients only form part of the Unscheduled Bus Service, which is providing buses to the government.

Dr Valenzia also pointed out the fact that the government can only blame itself for having removed the bendy buses from our roads and having to turn to UBS to make up for the short fall.

A final decision is to be taken on 17 December by the presiding Judge Jacqueline Padovani Grima.