The minister was being interviewed on Radio 101.

The agreement to be signed tomorrow costs Lm2 million and covers the current year. It will also serve as the basis for a future agreement between 2005 and 2009.

The current year is the last year of the government subsidy to introduce a number of new buses. The agreement provides for the government to pay out the arrears of the subsidy and the bus owners to implement a number of measures dating from the preceding agreement as well as a renewed effort to provide an efficient and high quality public transport. Each tranche of the subsidy arrears will be tied to the implementation of a number of measures.

• New bus routes: As from 10 October a number of new bus routes will be introduced. These will include a number of bus routes from a number of towns and villages to university. This means new bus routes will cut across Malta and avoid the need for many people who sometimes need to take two buses since the existing bus route system is a radial one to and out of Valletta. Another important bus route will be the extension of the bus system to Hal Far.

• Another measure will mean the continued use of the new buses since some 12 new buses were being used to ferry people to coffee mornings and children to school. There will be heavy penalties if the new buses are not used, including the loss of the subsidy for that bus.

• A code of conduct with penalties for infringements is being brought in. This will substantially change the existing system since this was mainly based on bus drivers being arraigned in court, a lengthy procedure with an uncertain outcome. This is being replaced with instant fines.

• Bus drivers will now be held responsible for anything to do with their bus. They will be given training and their wage is now on a par with that of a heavy plant driver.

Mr Mugliett also announced that a careful study is being made of all 91 bus routes, of which some 60 are loss makers and 30 earn good profits.

He also announced that by the end of the year a Park and Ride Scheme will operate from Crown Ditch (also known as Belt il-Hazna). However, a number of things have to fall in place before this can be realised: some junctions at Blata l-Bajda have to be realigned so that people do not have to drive all the way round the War Monument; some existing enterprises such as a mechanic and a Carnival enterprise will have to be relocated and there will be a call for a private-public partnership to operate the supervised parking and the shuttle service to Valletta.

Mr Mugliett also spoke about the ongoing roadworks and said the Kia showroom to Zebbug Gate part will be ready by the end of the year, as will the stretch of road from St Dorothy School to Rabat.

The government has some money left from the Italian Protocol fund which it hopes to use on more stretches of the road: from Zebbug to Siggiewi, from Qlejgha to Mgarr and parts of the Rabat Road.

Studies are also being done to plan roadworks from 2007 to 2013 and these will include the upgrading of Route 1 (the Regional Road from Hal Far to Cirkewwa), and a thorough upgrading of Route 5, the road at Marsa on the Grand Harbour side. Other forthcoming roadworks will include one from Kalkara to Vittoriosa, the Gzira link road, and from Zurrieq to Marsascala.

The phone-in was enlivened by an altercation between the Birzebbuga mayor, Joe Farrugia and WSC chairman Michael Falzon. Mr Farrugia claimed Mr Falzon was being arrogant and refused to speak to him when he complained about WSV roadworks. Mr Falzon claimed in return that it was Mr Farrugia who was being arrogant by not allowing Birzebbuga residents to ask the WSC to connect them to the mains because he (Mr Farrugia) wanted to tell the WSC people how to do their job.