As normally happens in conservative Malta, the Park and Ride scheme did not start with a bang.

Rather than bombard the people with an intensive media campaign before the launch of the scheme, the Urban Development and Roads Ministry and the Malta Transport Authority chose a cautious approach, allowing the system to start gently.

In fact, some 275 people made use of the system – parking their car in Blata l-Bajda and taking a shuttle trip to and from Valletta – on the first day. This number has been steadily increasing over the past days, meaning that media exposure of the scheme as well as word of mouth promotion has helped to encourage more people to make use of the system. Last Wednesday, 10 days after the launch, the car park was full for the first time.

At present there are 500 parking spaces available, but this number is to increase to 900 in the coming weeks when the second phase of the project is completed. Judging by the fact that more and more drivers are making their way to Valletta in this way – while others who work in the Blata l-Bajda area have found it convenient to leave their car there too – these 900 spaces will in the long term not be enough to meet demand.

But at least the project means that there will be fewer cars making their way into the capital city. The fact that there is and will be a huge turnover of cars parked in Blata l-Bajda – rather than in Floriana or Valletta – will reduce the amount of cars that enter the capital city.

This is one of the main aims of the park and ride scheme. For too many years Valletta has been inundated with cars during peak office and shopping hours, but at the end of the day there is only so much that Valletta can take. At present it is nearly impossible to find a parking space in Valletta between 8am and 7pm, and this led many to leave their vehicle in no parking zones.

Apart from this, the level of pollution in the capital city is high, and therefore fewer cars will hopefully mean that matters will get better. Fewer cars in Valletta would also serve the make the capital city more attractive.

Naturally, the park and ride scheme is only part of the government’s plan for the capital city. Apart from the projects to embellish Valletta’s squares over the next few years, the government intends to eliminate the V-licence system.

As things stand now, people who want to enter Valletta have to pay extra each time they renew their car licence. As from next year, this system will be abolished to make way for a pay-per-use, allowing all drivers to enter Valletta and park their car there.

This might be interpreted as being a contradiction – if the government wants fewer cars in Valletta, why open it up to all drivers? But the fact that owners of cars parked in Valletta will be charged a maximum of Lm2.80 a day shows that the intention is to keep drivers off Valletta’s roads as much as possible.

On the other hand, the pay-per-use system will serve to attract other visitors to Valletta; those who probably now do not consider it worthwhile to go to Valletta for lunch or dinner, or to the theatre, because they find it inconvenient to have to park their car outside Valletta to do so. In a way, this system could bring in new business for Valletta restaurants in the evening.

Now that the park and ride scheme is up and running, it must be ensured that the shuttle system that is available from Blata l-Bajda works to perfection. It would only take a couple of missed trips to push people away from making use of it.