Nearly two weeks ago, the Public Transport Association ordered industrial action as no agreement was reached with the government about subsidies. Most bus routes have stopped operating after 8pm while no service is being provided on the 75 route to St Luke’s Hospital.
As from Tuesday, the government is offering emergency services to the hospital, which it described as a “social service”.
The two sides are still far apart. The PTA initially asked for Lm1.7 million in subsidies, with the government offering Lm1.1 million. The PTA’s request was dropped to Lm1.4 million, but the government is persisting in its stand, saying that its offer already means a Lm1,000 increase per bus over last year as a form of compensation for the rise in the price of fuel and cost of living.
Last Monday, the PTA gave notice of termination of employment to 10 of its employees, two of them full-timers, a move that Urban Development and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett described as a “bluff” while adding that the government will stick to its guns.
The minister went one step further than that, saying that the government would feel free to enter into negotiations with private entrepreneurs interesting in providing public transport if no agreement was reached by 1 November. The PTA requested that the deadline is extended by three months, but the government offered “just a few (extra) days”.
The battle goes on as both sides do not appear to want to budge from their position.
It must be said that one of the main differences seems to be that the PTA is interested in a short-term agreement whereas the government is more in favour of a long-term deal that would reform the public transport sector.
While, on the whole, one does understand the PTA’s preoccupation about rising costs, the association is not seeing the overall picture.
There have been several agreements in the past which were supposed to improve the bus services. Deals were reached for an increase in fares coupled with a promise to improve the service. The tariffs were raised, but the improvement was only marginal and the service still leaves much to be desired.
With all the parking problems we have in Malta, a more efficient and reliable transport service would certainly be able to attract more passengers. Yet, many people still prefer to use their own cars – a costlier exercise – just because they do not think that the public transport system offers them the service they would like to have.
And this is what the government is after. The government has made a reform in the public transport sector as one of its targets. Public transport should be upgraded to such an extent that people would opt to make use of it rather than their own vehicles. This would mean fewer cars on the road – and therefore less pressure on the country’s roads and infrastructure as well as a better environment.
The 1 November deadline was set on the basis of an agreement reached between the government and the PTA last year – that is a 90-day timeframe following the completion of the Halcrow report, which looked into the operations of the public transport sector.
More than two months remain for the two sides to come to terms and, it is hoped that some form of deal could be reached.
What is important to remember however is that a reform in the public transport sector is necessary – for the benefit of both regular commuters as well as for the many tourists who make use of it.
If the system works better, bus drivers would be the first to benefit because they would carry more passengers.