The statement made by Transport Minister Austin Gatt at a conference last Wednesday did not come as a surprise.

Malta’s growing reliance on private transport for work, leisure, education and shopping is becoming increasingly unsustainable, he told a conference. The government is tackling the problem head-on with radical and far-reaching reforms in the public transport sector, he added.

There are, of course, many sides to the story. The fact that there has been a growing number of people who own a car is an indication of an improved standard of living. Today, most families own two or more cars, and when young people turn 18, the first thing that they would like to have is a car. Often, they get it. It is very common to see learner drivers on our roads these days.

But this, apart from being example of good quality living, has happened also as a result of the poor public transport that we have had for many years. In various other European countries, the standard of living is equal or higher than ours, and yet many people do not use their own personal means to travel because public transport there is efficient.

Here in Malta it is a different story.

The unreliability and inefficiency of the service, the attitude of some drivers and the uncomfortable buses have gradually shifted people away from the public transport system. Although the population has increased and the number of tourists visiting Malta has also risen, the number of passengers making use of buses has dwindled sharply.

It is no wonder that today many people prefer the frustration of traffic and parking problems than to take the bus. Travelling in their own car costs them more, but it saves them the trouble of having to wait for the bus for a long time, of having to confront belligerent bus drivers and of having to sit on uncomfortable seats in a stuffy bus.

If anything, the reform in the public transport system might have come too late. The previous attempts of the past were too weak to make any difference – all they meant was a rise in the price of fares but no improvement in the service – and the public today has got used to taking their own vehicles to go from one point to another.

The reform that is being drawn up by the government – and which will be implemented later this year – is, on the cards, the best effort that has ever been made. But it will take much more to convince the public to leave their cars in the garage or parked in front of their house to take a bus to work or to go shopping.

A change of mentality is needed, and we all know how difficult it is to get people to change their habit. The authorities therefore have a double problem – that of working on the reform itself, and that of persuading the people to go back to the custom of taking a bus.

One will not work without the other. The reform may be perfect in terms of routes provided, efficiency and reliability of the service, courteous bus drivers and new buses, but it will be useless if the patronage does not increase to acceptable levels. On the other hand, if people are encouraged to start using public transport service and they find out that not much has changed from the current situation, then we will soon go back to square one.

Once the reform is in hand, the authorities must therefore embark on a wide-ranging campaign that pushes people into making use of public transport more than they are doing at present. It will be no surprise if the implementation of the reform comes in with other measures, such as parking becoming more restricted, and therefore more expensive, than it is today. The setting up of parking meters will probably not remain just an idea.