The Malta Transport Authority (ADT) yesterday denied a claim by the Public Transport Association that VRT stations were using the wrong specifications in emissions tests on buses.

The authority said an EU roadworthiness test directive laid down the procedure to be followed and indicated the levels of emissions which determine whether a vehicle could be given the green light or not.

It added that it had for some time been following the procedure used by VRT testers and had often inspected the equipment used, which was functioning properly. The authority said the RPM test was taken on three readings of the same revving. The procedure was the same used in UK and elsewhere in Europe. It was irrelevant that large vehicles in Malta did not do more than 2,500 rpm because the test was not based on established rpm but on the procedure mentioned, the authority said.

As for the replacement of the bus fleet, the public transport document on reform referred to the fleet replacement. With almost all drivers being owners of the bus they drove, the situation was that the government was paying too high a subsidy for replacing the buses. Buses which today were considered new were already too old for the levels of emissions and fumes they should have in urban areas.

The authority said the government had already stated publicly that they needed a public transport system which used buses of different capacities, with substantially reduced emissions.

This meant that they needed large buses for main roads, but much smaller buses, which could even be vans, to go round the small villages. This meant they should have Euro-certified buses and they should also consider hiring vehicles, instead of buying them, to ensure that vehicles would be replaced before they became too old.