As increased traffic looms, some gear up to meet the challenge

Debono Group sets upteam to generate ideas

As children prepare to go back to school, everyone else in the country is dreading the return once more to deadlocked traffic as a frustrating daily reality.

This has inspired the Debono Group to invite a range of experts to get together to generate ideas on how to make transportation sustainable in Malta and alleviate the island’s collective road rage.

Will large road infrastructure projects help solve the traffic mayhem? How can we make our cars more efficient? What role does the sharing economy play in all of this? And how should government policy be shaped to encourage best practice?

These are some of the questions the newly set up expert working group will seek to answer in the coming weeks. The initiative, Project Aegle is the brainchild of the Debono Group, the local dis-tributors of Toyota.

Project Aegle brings together experts in the field, including Prof. Maria Attard, Matthew Bezzina, Konrad Pule, Ranier Fsadni, Prof. Edward Mallia, Prof. Adrian Muscat and Dr Philip von Brockdorff.

Their task is to generate ideas and discussion thereon leading to the formulation of tangible recommendations for improved mobility.

“According to official figures, congestion costs the country 4% of its GDP. This cost is expected to increase to 8% by 2050. We envisage a future with an improved transport system and mobility options that would contribute to better health, increased wellbeing and a reduced impact on the envi-ronment, within the context of a stronger economy,” Group direc- tor Geoffrey Debono said.

“We want to generate ideas that could be taken on by government, car drivers, police and road users to serve this greater purpose. We will also embark on a project aimed at collecting data on the local travel patterns to determine hot spots of traffic congestion and enable us to submit proposals, which could alleviate the current problems,” he added.

Project Aegle also aims to increase awareness about the unsustainable trends of transport in Malta and to disseminate infor- mation on how a shift towards better mobility and improved quality of life could be achieved.

“We are also rolling out a website to enable the public to contribute through a blog and be able to calculate the time consumed in traffic and report thereon.”

The late Michael Debono started the family business in 1955 and imported the first Toyota into Malta (and Europe) in 1960. From more information about this new project visit www.projectaegle.com.mt