Following a joint meeting held between Malta Public Transport and the Malta Tourism Authority, it was confirmed that anyone, including tourist,s can apply for their personalised tallinja card online and have their card delivered to an addresses outside Malta too.
In a statement, Malta Public Transport said that all the fares, tickets and cards that came into effect as of 1 July are available to anyone irrespective of their place of residence or nationality.
“The change in fares is about encouraging people to use a card instead of buying their tickets on board the bus. Until June this year, there was no difference in price when buying a ticket from on board the bus or not. In fact, 95% of bus tickets were being purchased from the bus”, Daniel Grech, Commercial Director said. “After one week of introducing the new tallinja card, we can report that over 50,000 people used their tallinja card instead of paying cash on the bus – this is a major milestone for us.”
“We have added a new feature to our online registration process whereby anyone registering for a tallinja card may have it delivered to any address even if it is outside Malta. Our objective is to reduce the sale of tickets from on board the bus as much as possible – hence the lower fares when using any of our cards. This will reduce the time it takes for passengers to board the bus,” Mr Grech said.
The company also explained that the online registration process provides the facility for those that have a Maltese Identity Card or a Maltese Driving Licence to give their consent to retrieve their photo and date of birth from the national identity management system or national driving licence system rather than submitting a photo and proof of age. This, however, is not mandatory and is simply an option. In fact, thousands of people who do not possess a Maltese Identity Card or Maltese Driving Licence have already registered for a tallinja card.
“There are other products that are available for immediate use and which do not require pre-registration or personalisation. These too offer reduced fares when compared to the ticket bought on the bus. The Explore Cards and the 12 Single Day Journey Card can be purchased by anyone from our ticket booths and other leading outlets. We are currently working with the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association to have these cards readily available in as many places as quickly as possible,” Mr Grech said.
The Explore 7 Day card offers unlimited travel by bus throughout Malta and Gozo, on all day and night services. It can be used immediately upon purchase and is valid for seven consecutive days from the first validation. The card is valid for one person only and cannot be shared. The Explore Card for Adults costs €21 and the Explore Card for children costs €15. This means that, by way of example, an adult using this card to travel an average of three times a day for a whole week would be, in effect, paying just €1 per journey.
This 12 Single Day Journey Card, on the other hand, allows people to travel for 12 journeys on day services or 6 journeys on night services or a combination of both. At a price of €15, it offers great value with a price of €1.25 for every single day journey instead of €2 when purchased on the bus. Similarly, the price for a Night Service Single Journey is reduced from €3.00 when purchased on the bus to €2.50 when using this Card. This card can be used immediately and may be shared and used more than once on the same bus trip.
Malta Public Transport will also be providing training to the information offices of the Malta Tourism Authority to ensure that all the information on the new fares and on the tallinja card would be properly communicated to tourists on the Authority’s online portal, through its overseas offices and through its information points located in Malta.
More information is available online at tallinja.com, at one of our ticket booths or by calling 2122 2000.