How long are we going to talk ourselves blue in the face about the snarling traffic congestion, the pollution caused by fuel emissions, parking headaches and rising petrol prices?

Each morning and evening we all sit in our one passenger cars driving from point A to point B, contributing even more to all the above problems when there is a relatively easy to implement solution. I hesitate to suggest it however, for fear of the reaction I will provoke from those tough guys with a permanent “don’t mess with me, lady” look on their faces. In other words, Malta’s taxi drivers.

Just look at how they thundered against the formidable Austin Gatt when they thought he was going to touch their operation. But I’ll take my chances and suggest it anyway.

Why can’t we just (deep breath) liberalise the taxi service?

Most of Malta’s 250 white taxis are represented and operate through the White Taxis Amalgamated Service, which is, in effect, a monopoly. While it offers an efficient service, the rather steep prices for our short distances means using a taxi is not something an ordinary Maltese person would even contemplate doing. In fact, we all drive each other to the airport and pick each other up again on arrival. (We also like to take the whole family on this outing, including dear old Nanna and Nannu tottering on their canes, even when young Jesmond would have only gone to the UK for a week… “there he is! Jes-moooond! Wave to him Nan, yoo-hoo! Look at how much stuff he bought!”).

But I digress.

Is the present system really worth the taxi drivers’ while? I have never been able to understand why someone would prefer to sit and wait in a car for eight or 12 hours on the off chance that some poor misguided tourist will opt to use a taxi to go from say, Valletta to Mdina. Surely, this trip, which costs €18.63, (according to their official website) is not worth hanging around the whole day for? Of course, we’ve all heard the outrageous stories of taxi drivers ripping off hapless foreigners by charging outlandish prices for a 10-minute ride, but I’m sure reports such as these are grossly exaggerated. Anyway, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Here’s a crazy thought. What if we had the kind of taxi service like they have in New York, where taxis travel through the main roads of various towns and can be flagged at any point to take you to where you want to go? What if (and here my imagination is really running wild), each short trip would cost no more than, for example, a couple of euros? Before everyone gets too excited and starts entertaining thoughts of lynching me, let me point out that keeping prices low makes sense as a marketing strategy because people would use the service more. It would be the best incentive to leave our cars at home.

Of course, the rate would have to be worked out according to distances and to cover wear and tear for the increased driving, so that it still remains financially viable for taxi owners. But the way I see it, even if a trip costs, let’s say, €10 for the longer routes, once people pool in to split the fare, this would make taking a taxi more affordable than driving one’s own car.

Cheap taxis could be the answer to Malta’s public transport problem precisely because it’s such a small country. If I take myself as an example, most of my regular driving is no further than Qawra, on one side of the island, to St Julian’s and Sliema on the other – like most people, the radius of where I need to drive is contained within a specific area. Flagging a taxi for a modest price would suit me just fine. When I have the occasional meeting in Valletta, I especially yearn for this kind of taxi service because the sheer thought of the traffic and the parking hassle is enough to put me in a bad mood before I get there.

I would think that, with this system, a taxi driver would make more money in the long run. Even more importantly, we would have less pollution and traffic. People would be less stressed by not having to go into combat with other drivers every day, as they battle it out in what has become a virtual jungle on our congested roads. Unless I’ve missed something, I see this as a win-win situation.

If it is done in consultation with the taxi guys themselves, liberalising the market might just work. I can see it now: healthy competition with different taxi companies offering different kinds of services, giving commuters a choice. (On the other hand, I could be completely wrong, in which case, I’m going into hiding).

All I know is that it is certainly more practical than what some people have suggested: creating a subway, train or tram system… the very thought of the upheaval that would cause in our roads (and the many years it would take to get it finished) is enough to make me reach for the Prozac.

The best kind of pool

Many years ago, when I was a mature student at university, there was a student debate about the car-parking problem. After going round in circles about how to solve the “too many cars, nowhere to park” problem, I raised my hand and suggested that maybe students should start to car pool. If two or more were from the same town they could pick each other up and take it in turns to drive to and from university, thus reducing the number of cars going round in circles looking for a parking place.

They looked at me as if I were on drugs.

“As if! And what if I want to go home in between lectures; I’ll be stranded here! No way!” So that idea was quickly flushed down the toilet.

Well, more than 15 years later, the parking problem has obviously escalated and yet people still don’t think of creating a car pool. If your car is going to be parked all day outside your office or school, and you don’t intend to go anywhere after work, I cannot understand why you would not want to save on petrol, avoid the parking nightmare and the angst of driving in traffic. Some might say that would mean going “out of your way” to collect passengers, but honestly, in Malta, this is virtually impossible. Cirkewwa, maybe, is out of the way, but taking a detour to the next village? Come on.

Even though I live at the very end of Mosta known as Targa Gap, and my car pool buddies live on the outskirts of Lija, using just one car would still make economic and environmental sense.

I can only conclude that we are a nation of spoilt, selfish people who don’t like sharing anything, not even our precious empty, passenger seats.

You start first

The oil crisis is hitting everyone in his or her wallet, where it hurts.

As everyone is busy calculating how much their next electricity bill is going to be, and how they can slash their consumption, how about the government setting an example by implementing energy conservation measures in its own departments? For a start, it can give directives to its employees to switch off unnecessary lights and air-

conditioners. Ministers could lead by example by not using their cars to go for meetings in Valletta itself. It’s called “walking”. OK, it’s too hot, so we won’t mind if they called one of those handy electric cabs.

The point is that we need to create a national environmental consciousness in this country, and if Joe Public sees a concerted effort by his elected representatives, he might just follow suit.

The Nationalist dynasty

Mifsud Bonnici, Fenech Adami, de Marco, Gonzi, Borg Olivier… a look at the surnames in today’s political arena is almost like being in a time warp in which we have been transported back to the 1960s and 1970s.

It’s nice to see the passing of the baton from one generation to the next in this way; it gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling.

Or does it?

Valletta Boy

During the Isle of MTV, Paul Borg Olivier went up on stage to present Enrique Iglesias with an honorary citizenship of Valletta. I think he was trying to look cool and hip, but instead he looked more like the class nerd trying to win favour with the most popular hunk in school.

It could have been worse. If the former Valletta mayor were female, he could have ended up being groped and kissed by the Latin heart-throb.

Earlier this week, Mr Borg Olivier had his baptism of fire as the PN’s new secretary-general, when he was grilled by Lou Bondi. Psst Paul: a word of advice. The next time you are interviewed you should at least know the exact number of promises your party made to voters. This was not his only faux pas, but even as he

faltered and stumbled under that relentless Gozitan gaze, I found it hard not to feel sorry for the poor guy. His clumsy attempts to evade the questions with political doublespeak (“I didn’t lose against Joe Saliba nine years ago, the Nationalist Party won”) were hot air balloons, which were quickly deflated and shot down to earth. You could even hear the sound: pffffttttt.

Clearly, he has a lot to learn and you can’t help but wonder whether those 41 people who voted for him really knew what they were doing.

God forbid

Chaos at Mater Dei, policemen beating up civilians, inflation spiralling out of control, MPs who cheat at exams and twist the truth, new taxes implemented overnight, broken election promises and a government that doesn’t consult with anyone.

Remind me again…why was it that people were so afraid of Labour being elected?

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