ADPD-The Green Party emphasise the urgent need to reassign road space in line with the Mobility Pyramid, prioritising active travel and public transport over private cars.
In a document it presented as a contribution to the public consultation exercise on transport, the party argued that Malta must shift from car-centric policies to a Bus Rapid Transit system integrated with safe walking, cycling and micromobility networks.
ADPD–The Green Party’s transport and mobility policy is centred on reclaiming streets for people, reassigning road space, and fostering community-oriented, not car-centric, urban environments.
While the Master Plan aspires to integrate climate adaptation, renewable energy and low-emission mobility into infrastructure planning, this vision is contradicted by continued airport expansion and an insistence on road widening and parking provision. The consultation document recognises the benefits of public transport and micromobility, yet simultaneously pushes these modes aside to make more space for cars.
Transport Malta itself acknowledges that road widening is increasingly ineffective, stating that it is often difficult to increase vehicle capacity and that focus should instead shift to moving people rather than vehicles. This shift must be stated clearly and reflected in investment priorities, the party said.
A credible National Transport Plan must embrace the Mobility Pyramid, which prioritises walking, cycling and public transport over private car use. Evidence from the 2024 EIT Urban Mobility study shows that active travel delivers substantial economic and health gains, including €850–€1,170 in health benefits per person. Public transport serves as the backbone of sustainable mobility, complemented by shared mobility options and safe, well-designed active travel infrastructure.
Reassigning urban road space is essential to reversing decades of car dominance that have degraded Malta’s towns and cities. This shift will face resistance from vested interests and those accustomed to political deference to car-centric demands, but it remains urgent and unavoidable.
Adopting the Mobility Pyramid can deliver major environmental benefits, including over 90% emissions reductions by 2050, the party said. But infrastructure changes must be combined with robust regulation and enforcement. Transport Malta itself highlights dangers faced by cyclists and pedestrians due to aggressive driving, underscoring the need for safer urban design, strong speed enforcement, and improved infrastructure – especially given Malta’s average trip length of only 6.1 km.
Successive governments have ignored key expert recommendations.
The 2007 Halcrow Report proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) for Malta’s high-demand corridors, yet politicians rejected it mainly because it requires reallocating road space away from private cars. Instead, the government periodically promotes ideas such as a metro or even a Gozo undersea tunnel – projects revealing a refusal to challenge the car-centred status quo. A metro would be astronomically expensive, slow to deliver, energy-intensive, vulnerable to flooding, and poorly suited to Malta’s small size and short distances.
By contrast, BRT is repeatedly shown to be the most suitable solution. BRT offers rapid implementation, far lower capital costs, flexibility, and strong social and environmental returns. It avoids the heavy fiscal burden of a metro while enabling real transformation at street level. A system combining BRT with feeder buses, park-and-ride, and active-mobility links provides the best strategic fit for Malta.
Effective multi-modal integration is crucial. Research shows that secure, convenient bicycle parking significantly increases bike-and-ride use. High-quality BRT systems benefit directly from improved cycling access, and Malta should prioritise this to support seamless mobility, ADPD said.
While the Master Plan makes accurate observations about Malta’s mobility challenges, it fails to commit to the bold action required. Instead of contrasting scenarios with clear policy pathways, it relies heavily on “raising awareness”. The vision it describes—collective effort towards a sustainable, people-first transport system—is one we share. Yet political leadership repeatedly contradicts this vision, especially through ongoing road-widening and car-capacity expansion.
ADPD called for concrete, targeted action that delivers genuine modal shift, prioritises people over vehicles, and makes Malta’s mobility system fit for the future. Time is up for half-measures. Only a firm commitment to the Mobility Pyramid, BRT-centred public transport reform, and active travel infrastructure can achieve a clean, safe and liveable transport system for all.