‘Nightmare’ Msida subway has been ‘adequately lit’

● GUG meets transport minister over complaints

A university student group has announced that, following complaints it raised about the state of the Msida subway, the issue has been tackled by the authorities and the area has been “sufficiently lit.”

Earlier this week GUG said students preferred to take their chances on the busy road than use the “nightmare” subway. It had warned that students did not feel safe using the underground passageway, which was also prone to flooding.

“As an organisation, we are very pleased that our complaints do not fall on deaf ears and hope that in the future we can work hand in hand with the authorities to ensure all students’ safety and education,“it said.

On Thursday GUG held a meeting with transport minister Ian Borg and discussed a number of complaints by Gozitan students.

The first issue which was tackled was the problems surrounding the X1 Route.

GUG said the general idea behind the route was brilliant: a route which goes through important places around Malta namely Cirkewwa, Imsida and Hal Luqa.

But the problem is that the bus times are not in sync with the ferry times, “so sometimes students could be left waiting over thirty minutes.”

“This is not made any more comfortable by the bus shelter which can be called anything but shelter,” the group added.

“On the journey back, the bus might not even go through Msida, leaving students waiting for hours. Sometimes if it does pass, it skips a stop as it is too crowded. Because of this, students have created online forums, renting minibus services, preferring to spend an extra euro rather than waiting.”

Minister Borg heard GUG complaints and promised that this issue will be brought up in future meetings with the transport authority.

He also spoke about the proposed undersea tunnel, telling GUG that studies are underway. He also reminded them that the new fast ferry service will soon be in operation.

GUG said that the Minister was very interested in what they had to say and asked them to send further information. “Thus, the GUG are encouraging Gozitan students to fill out an online survey on their commute between the two islands to help us help the authorities understand the situation - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/C8M7SWK“