The ADPD Green Party presented its transport proposals during a press conference on Saturday, with one of its primary proposals being the cessation of the subsidy on petrol and diesel over a period of not longer than six months.

It said that this initiative would mean that the market price would begin being paid, which would reduce the number of cars on the roads as people would moderate their driving and reduce needless driving.

The ADPD said that the proposals made by the Ministry for Transport are "half-measures" that will not get the country anywhere. The ADPD added that its policies are ones that give back to the country for the good of all, not policies which encourage selfishness.

ADPD Secretary General Ralph Cassar said that transport pollution is a major contributor both to very bad effects on people's health as well as to various emissions that contribute to the continued accumulation of damage to the climate. He added that vehicles occupy the largest amount of space in Malta's localities, especially in those that attract the most traffic during working hours.

The ADPD stated that public space, instead of being used for the enjoyment of residents and people, is being occupied by vehicles. It said that the politics of transport have reached depths of blatant buying of people's votes and the encouraging of selfishness. "The Labour Party's electoral manifesto has a section on zero-carbon, but it is not even worth the paper it is printed on," it commented.

Cassar said that the ADPD's proposals on this matter are clear, as he remarked that the proposals presented focus particularly on land transport, or commuting. He said that there should be a focus effort so that traffic is reduced by half through a number of practical measures, particularly in regard to the busiest areas.

Going through its proposals, the ADPD said that priority should no longer be given to cars with the construction of new roads, as it remarked that making it easier to use cars in itself encourages more and more cars on roads.

It continued that public transport should be given absolute priority on roads to busy destinations, and that regulat connections should be made from park-and-ride areas. It added that there should be a massive pedestrianisation programme, and that on-street parking should be a priority for residents.

The ADPD said that the government should ensure safe and continuous routes for bicycles, electric bikes, and scooters between main hubs, especially towards schools, colleges, and large educational institutions in order to bring about a cultural change in transport. It said that this should be done in addition to safe routes along all arterial roads.

The ADPD stated that changes should be made to the law to introduce the specific criminal offence of homicide or injury by vehicle in order to make it clear that a vehicle is also a lethal and dangerous weapon if misused. It added that the permanent suspension of driving licences for those who drive dangerously should become the norm.

It also said that there should be the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit system, which it described as a system of separated lines exclusively and permanently reserved for specific buses, adding that such a system should be planned immediately. The ADPD said that the regular bus system should connect all localities to the BRT system, and that the park-and-rides should also be connected to the BRT system. It remarked that a BRT system is much cheaper than dreams of a metro and can be done in a few years rather than decades.

ADPD Chairperson Sandra Gauci said that the Transport Minister's proposals, although there are some proposals she does not disagree with such as an increase in public transport routes and an increase of sea transport, are full of proposals that are intended to splash out money without any serious push towards measures that will have any real effect.

The ADPD commented that the allocation of €15 million to supposedly remove 2,500 cars from the roads is a waste of money. It questioned how many kilometres of safe urban cycle routes or how many additional journeys by bus or sea could be created with €15 million.