We only have to think about the first months of the public transport reform bombastically inaugurated by Minister Austin Gatt last year to know that is exactly how passengers should not be treated.  The Arriva fiasco left most people furious, from passengers to staff to police authorities and even cabinet and ruling party colleagues.

While things have since improved somewhat, there are still too many passengers claiming they were much better off, in terms of money, regularity and efficiency matters, when the old public transport system was in vigore. 

Only last week, the Gozitan university students’ organization was still protesting loudly. Considering the huge financial resources that were jam-packed into the reform, including buying the old buses and scrapping most of them, the current situation is not only unwarranted but also hugely disappointing, particularly from a passenger’s point of view.

Arriva were unlucky that they had to bow their heads to a reform package proposed and prepared by so-called consultants, paid profusely from public funds, who did not know anything about public transport, let alone the rights of passengers and staff. On several occasions, we have been led to understand by Arriva insiders that the public transport reform in tiny Malta was a much bigger headache than what they had to go through in undertaking – successfully from the very start – similar projects in European cities with millions of users.

This is because elsewhere in Europe, ministers do not plan reforms merely for electoral gain, but also to make sure passengers everywhere and on all means of transport are given a fair deal by way of improved services and routes. Sadly, the opposite thing happened in Malta.

Within the European Parliament’s Transport and Tourism Committee, at which I happily participate on a regular basis, the awareness is strong that passengers are consumers too, and so have rights which need to be recognized, put into fruition, and respected by all EU member states, including of course our own island state where we sadly lag far behind.

It is why I have made a strong appeal within that same committee for improved passenger rights to European citizens who make use of all kinds of transport, including air travel. I referred in particular to the need of better consumer information for passengers, more transparency on the part of all airlines, better security during trips, and fair compensation if and when required.

I made this appeal during the discussion on a motion, eventually approved, calling for a resolution on the rights of passengers. The resolution asks the European Commission to draft guidelines on the application and implementation of passenger rights on all means of transport. It also encourages the use of technology and the social networks to propagate useful information on all passenger rights.

The motion specifically refers to the needs of disabled persons, insisting on the provision of better and indiscriminatory access to all kinds of transport. It proposes the setting up of a European Data Bank that would allow a free exchange of information in all official EU languages, including of course Maltese, as a way of keeping passengers informed of their rights and how to tackle infringements. Another special reference is to the need of transparency as regards fares, and immediate action on behalf of passengers/consumers, especially when airlines unfortunately go bust.

My yes vote on the motion was consistent with my declared position during a plenary session of the European Parliament last March when I supported a call for more effective regulations safeguarding the rights of passengers when flights are delayed or even cancelled.

I am now determined to be part of the movement within the EP working towards a majority approval of the resolution and, hence, more rights for passengers and more transparency by those who serve them. It is what European citizens everywhere deserve and what Maltese passengers in particular need.

Joseph Cuschieri

MEP

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