PD urges setting up of transport strategy think-tank

Partit Demokratiku has called for the urgent setting up of a transparent think-tank with participation from the public who will advise the Government with an effective transport strategy.

Such a strategy would have to be made public by the next budget.

“Transport affects everyone in so many ways. It is a no-brainer that if the public is well served by public transport and alternative means of transport, the number of licenced cars on our roads would not be increasing at such a high rate, and our roads would not be so congested,” PD said.

“All along, the Government has shown a lack of political will and maturity to implement a host of measures as part of a holistic traffic policy to address the needs of our society and economy.”

Partit Demokratiku said the first responsibility for Government and the Infrastructure Agency and Transport Malta is to acknowledge the roots of Malta’s traffic problems and to seek solutions that are a pull and not a push factor, so that travel time and reliability are effectively tackled.

“Public transport is in turn inadequate due to a set of very identifiable and quantifiable challenges and limitations which the Government has been choosing to ignore all along. Public transport does not serve commuters efficiently as it does not follow the road concepts of a Rapid Bus Transport system. There is also a general lack of enforcement of traffic regulations. Furthermore, insufficient and/or inexistent re-investment by the public transport operator in order to improve efficiency only compounds the issue,” it said.

In the forthcoming budget, PD urges the Government to introduce soft incentives for limiting the number of car licences voluntarily, whilst offering viable and eco-friendly alternatives in order to improve our deteriorating quality of life.

“In addition, there is the widening of roads to the detriment of our environment and the introduction of new monster-size fuel stations,” stated Mark Zerafa. “This all adds up to induced demand for more vehicles – a schizophrenic approach on all accounts.”

PD said it has issued repeated calls for a varied system of alternative modes of transport to serve our communities. “A onesize fits all does not work.”