Over 300 infrastructure projects were completed by Infrastructure Malta so far this year, the government announced last week.

This cost €50 million and covered more than 360,000 metres of roads, it said, adding that the works included road maintenance, new road construction, utility upgrades, and improved access to rural areas.

Malta's roads are in a better state than they were years ago, of that there is no question. However, lack of forward planning could mean that at least some of the funds spent over the years on infrastructure projects have been wasted, or that different designs could have been used to prepare the way forward.

Here, we are referring to a mass transportation system, and the lack of a decision on what this would look like. A survey recently showed that public buses now account for a larger share of daily trips than in previous years, as public transport's share reached 12.8% in 2025, up from 10.8% in 2023. But traffic is still a major issue, and the population keeps rising.

Transport Minister Chris Bonett had said in April: "The long-term solution is an integrated mass transport system - which includes a rapid system, be it a part-underground rail, bus rapid transit, tram monorail or something of the sort, combined with ferries."

The government had explored the possibility of a Metro, although, realistically speaking, such a project would take far too long and be too costly, not to mention the mass amount of geological studies that would be required, the massive inconvenience of the sheer amount of works it requires, and the possible need for going below the sea level in certain coastal areas.

The quickest option to implement would be some sort of bus rapid transit system, combined with more ferry transport also. The PN has also been calling for a trackless tram system, which is essentially a bus rapid transit system anyway. But such a system requires dedicated bus lanes. A bit of forward planning could have meant that some of the major infrastructure projects that have been conducted over recent years could have taken this into account, and incorporated the lanes. The same could be said should the country go for a monorail or a tram system, which would need to be tied in to the current bus service.

But no matter what way forward is decided, both major political parties need to come together and agree on it. Traffic is one of the country's major issues, and if a unified approach by both parties isn't taken, then it risks turning into a political football. Partisanship on this issue needs to be put aside and both sides must agree on the solution together.

This should be done sooner rather than later. If, for instance, a bus rapid transit system is chosen, or a tram, this would require changes to certain roads, and so the quicker a unified decision is taken, the fewer major infrastructure projects would take place which could require changes to make whatever system is chosen work. The country has already seen too many roads dug up more than once within a short period of time due to lack of coordination between different public entities for works, which was a waste of funds.