The Valletta bus terminus currently takes up some 9,500 square metres, but the move to St James’ ditch means it will now occupy an area of some 3,500 square metres, Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt said yesterday.

Mr Gatt said it was the government’s intention, as part of the public transport reform, to minimise the area currently housing the bus terminus, for the simple reason that the new system did not require this large space.

As things stand the buses currently occupy the area around the Triton Fountain, as well as St James’ ditch, but the new system will only make use of the ditch area, as it requires less space.

There are currently some 45 spots for buses to park, he said, but this figure would go down to 15. Mr Gatt explained that a more efficient system will be implemented, as the aim is to have the buses on the road for most of the time and not stopping too long in the same spot, as they currently do.

The maximum number of buses in Valletta at any point would be 30, he said, due to the fact that trips would be more frequent, necessitating a short waiting time. The aim, he said, would be to keep the bus wheels turning.

Each bus is currently utilised for 25.2 per cent of the time, but with the new system, Mr Gatt said, this figure would increase to 57 per cent.

Likening the transformation that the entrance into Valletta would undergo to that which took place a short while ago in St George’s Square, Mr Gatt said this would transform it from the cemetery of buses it currently is.

All the licensed kiosks currently dotting the area leading up to City Gate will also be moved to the ditch, he said, and will be redesigned and modernised. The new terminus will be equipped with all amenities.

People will have easier and less risky access to the terminus, he said, as no crossing of lanes would be necessary. The fountain area will become completely pedestrianised, as part of the Piano project for City Gate.

A number of tall trees are also to be planted in the ditch area, similar to those found around the Colosseum in Rome, providing adequate shade. The changes in St James’ ditch would also mean that the bastions would no longer be hidden.

The project is estimated to cost some e3.3 million, over half the projected expenditure for a plan proposed some years ago, which included the possibility of an underground bus station.

It has not yet been decided, Mr Gatt said, where the market which is set up every Sunday and the tourist coaches will be relocated to, but there were other suitable areas for these purposes.

There is still room for discussion and adjustments, he said, but this is the plan which has been submitted to MEPA. Mr Gatt said the project could be concluded by the end of the year, in line with the new transport system, if the permit is approved by May.