Last Saturday, taxi drivers disrupted the new shuttle service being provided from the cruise passenger terminal to Valletta. Because of fears that the situation would escalate, the police had to intervene and the shuttle service was stopped. This happened in full view of thousands of cruise passengers.

The limited number of taxis cannot possibly cope with the demand for travel from thousands of cruise passengers, said a VAI spokesman. If a passenger has no transport, he will remain on board the ship and will spend his money in another port which is more amenable and willing to give him the service he deserves. We should be trying to encourage more cruise ships to stop over in Malta rather than scare them away as the taxi drivers are doing.

The Valletta Alive Initiative fully supports the new transport shuttle service. It provides easy and quick access to the city for tourists thus giving them more time to shop and to visit the many important historical and architectural sites in Valletta. The shuttle will enable the retail, heritage and tourism sector to take advantage of the exceptional opportunity provided by cruise ships. In an increasingly competitive world, these are opportunities which simply cannot be wasted.

The loss of cruise passenger business is a loss to everyone. With their actions, taxi drivers are endangering their own livelihood apart from that of several hundred others in the retail and tourism sector. VAI has urged government to take the bull by the horns and ensure that no single small group takes any action which undermines Malta’s competitivity.

Valletta Alive Initiative is a lobby group composed of representatives of the private and public sector, namely Republic Street Business Community, Merchants Street Business Community, GRTU, Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, Malta Tourism Authority, Valletta Rehabilitation Committee and Valletta local council.