Transport expert Suzanne Maas has warned that Malta cannot wait 15 years for solutions while the traffic crisis worsens. Speaking in reference to the transport proposals put forward by the PL and the PN in the run-up to the election, particularly the rapid transport systems, Maas pointed out that such proposals will take many years to implement, with little to no regard for what will happen in the meantime.

Maas, who has a PhD in Sustainable Mobility and is a Friends of the Earth campaign coordinator, supports the need for a mass transport system given the congestion and population growth that has spiked over the past decade. She said that Malta is indeed long overdue for major mass transit investment. That being said, her core criticism is not the idea itself, but the long-term timeframe and lack of urgent interim measures.

The Labour Party is proposing the introduction of a light rail rapid transport system to be built over the next 15 years, whereas the Nationalists are proposing a metro, the first 11.5km line of which they said would be built in 5 years. Both Labour and Nationalist proposals, Maas said, lack sufficient short-term action. She suggested that both major parties are failing to address Malta's immediate transport crisis. While there is some mention of short-term measures, Maas believes that they are not enough to alleviate or relieve the pressure that there is on the system currently.

"We have gridlock at times where traffic is just not moving," Maas said. "Not moving slowly, but just not moving."

Maas explained that building roads while promising future mass transit is contradictory. The government currently invests overwhelmingly in infrastructure for cars, such as more lanes, roads, and parking. To then expect a mass transit system to solve the problem of traffic would be short-sighted. Continued road expansion could in fact undermine future mass transit plans, according to Maas. This is because such expansions are only inviting people to travel by car.

Malta needs a "modal shift" and behavioural change, Maas said. People are only going to use a different system that's not reliant on their car if they have learnt to move around in different ways. Mass transit alone will not solve Malta's traffic problem without a cultural shift away from cars, Maas insisted. She also added that it takes time for people to change these behaviours. Unfortunately, in Malta car ownership is culturally tied to "freedom", Maas said. She posited that every teenager looks forward to getting their licence at age 18 for this reason. Thus, Malta must rethink cultural attachment to car ownership.

Maas revealed that Malta's average commute is only 6km. Despite this, poor alternatives keep residents dependent on cars.

"That's a distance that you can cycle easily in 20 minutes," Maas said. "With a bus on a bus lane you could do it in 10 minutes."

Maas said that alternatives to cars, such as walking and cycling, are unpleasant and dangerous to "outright impossible" in Malta. This is because the infrastructure is very car-centred, with structures like flyover and busy roads which one cannot cross, thus discouraging said alternatives. Because of these structures, it is hard for people to move about in any way but a car.

Free buses alone are not enough, Maas said. The current public transport system faces a number of issues, such as being stuck in traffic and getting full up quickly. Thus, the bus system has become conditional on the car-based system.

Maas said bus lanes and priority systems are essential to alleviate such issues. If the bus has a dedicated bus lane, it can actually move much more efficiently and could be a faster alternative. Stronger bus priority measures could thus make public transport competitive with cars.

Maas pointed out that unfortunately, no major party wants to discuss limiting cars, potentially because they fear pushback by voters. As a result, the two parties avoid difficult conversations on reducing car use. Maas said that car-use restrictions are a necessary part of transport reform.

When asked whether the PN's five-year metro timeline is reasonable, Maas stopped short of definitively calling it impossible, but cast serious doubt on it. She referred to it as "highly optimistic" due to the fact that with large projects like this, delays and setbacks are almost certain.  Therefore, costs and timelines are likely to be underestimated.

Maas pointed out that politicians are presenting these uncertain figures as firm promises. She described this as "misleading to their voters" and "a bit dishonest to the country".

"Any time a large infrastructure project is undertaken, it is delayed," Maas said. "From our experience with such large projects, it's always more expensive, and always takes longer than initially forecast."

Maas also noted the potential impact on neighbouring properties or that of the people living above the metro line. Not everything is going to go according to plan, Maas said.

Maas further insisted that transport should be a national project, not a partisan competition. She said that the country needs both parties to get behind the notion that we need to change our transport system, and that they should agree together that this is what the country needs. Thus, this project should be a national one that exceeds party politics. Maas called the current political approach of attempting to outbid one another "childish".

Labour and Nationalist proposals are fundamentally similar, Maas said. She held that in fact, parties are overstating differences between proposals. Therefore, the debate over metro versus light rail misses broader transport challenges.

Maas also pointed out that transport systems must connect seamlessly. What is going to really make or break it, according to Maas, is if people can access it easily. Rail therefore cannot function in isolation.

"Can they walk there? Can they cycle there? Can they leave their bikes safely? Can they take a bus that passes through their village to get to the nearest station?," Maas questioned.

When asked what causes people to make the switch from cars to other forms of transport, Maas said that people switch transport modes when alternatives are faster, cheaper, and more comfortable. Convenience and reliability determine whether people abandon cars. Malta must therefore make sustainable transport the "easiest way to travel", Maas said.

Turning to Momentum's proposal to introduce a taxi-sharing system, Maas said that shared cabs reduce parking demand, not road congestion. In the end, it is the same vehicle on the road, whether one is driving it or they are being driven. This is therefore not a standalone solution according to Maas, who described the proposal as "short-sighted" if seen as a main congestion solution. The scheme could complement buses and cycling, but cannot replace them.

"We can go for much more efficient alternatives to the private car than a shared taxi," Maas said.

What is promising about the Momentum proposal is the shift towards a shared mobility system, where such cabs are used by multiple people at once, over time increasing to a fleet of minivans, which could meaningfully reduce the number of vehicles on the road.

Maas praised ADPD as having the closest to a "science-based" transport approach in its manifesto. One of their main proposals is the introduction of a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT) - a system that gives absolute priority to buses through dedicated lanes. The party also proposes to reduce the number of cars on the road through greater use of congestion charging, restrictions on car use in urban areas, and the use of fiscal policy to discourage car use.

Maas also endorsed residential parking reform as a key tool. This is done by reserving parking for residents in a town, but then restricting It for other people, as is done in places like Valletta.