The Floriana Park and Ride scheme is suffering because commuters are spending excessive time waiting for mini vans to take them into Valletta, this newspaper is informed.

A number of readers called in to say that they were left waiting for a mini-van at the Park and Ride in Floriana for a good half an hour and were late for meetings in Valletta as a result.

Sources who spoke to this newsroom said that vans operating to and from Valletta from Floriana have been instructed to wait in Valletta until the vans are full to the brim with commuters. This was done following a review made by Transport Malta, informed sources explained. Sources also explained that they went to the Park and Ride at noon and did not board a van before 12.35 pm, arriving in Valletta as late as 12.45 p.m.

A Transport Malta review concluded that there were an excessive number of vans in operation. Therefore, the number of vans were reduced but the schedules have remained the same.

The Transport Ministry said that following this reorganisation, Transport Malta held surveys on site over a span of two weeks including Sundays. “From these surveys it emerged that between 2 and 3.30 pm the supply of mini-vans was at times not meeting the demand.

“It is for this reason that additional mini-vans are being put on the service as of this Monday (today) during this time slot. The survey further revealed that the demand for the service on Sundays was negligible,” the ministry and Transport Malta said.