Government, opposition must work together to address the country’s traffic problem.

A new transport minister was sworn in on Monday. Tasked with tackling the nightmarish situation on Malta’s crowded and crumbling roads, Chris Bonett has been handed one of the most challenging portfolios in government. 

The central issue? How do you reduce traffic congestion on an overcrowded island that’s obsessed with cars?  This is not a new dilemma – far from it.

So, how can Bonett succeed where successive others (he is the fourth transport minister since 2013) have struggled?

First off, there’s no time to waste.

The new minister should resist the urge to play for time by sweeping the issue under the rug – commissioning new studies or long-drawn-out reports on the transport situation.

The traffic problem, as well as the best possible solutions, have already been thoughtfully laid out by the country’s leading experts – most recently in the National Transport Strategy for 2050 as well as the National Transport Plan 2025.

In essence, these documents say the situation is critical and call for a total shift in the way we travel across these islands. It is time, the strategy documents say, to embrace a car-light lifestyle and change the way we move from A to B.

This means investing in buses, bicycles, ride sharing and, yes, sure, even ferries and other innovative solutions. But it also means taking unpopular decisions. And this is where it gets tricky. 

Malta’s two-party political system means that, all too often, governments are held hostage by the electorate over key policy issues. Ministers are unable to make bold decisions necessary for the good of the country for fear of reprisal from voters come the next general election. 

What transport minister, for instance, would introduce measures that disincentive personal car use? None. What transport minister would free up urban space currently gobbled up by on-street parking? Or create entirely car-free zones to replace tarmac with new walkways, trees and community spaces?

What transport minister would go through the trouble of investing in the development of a national mass transit system that won’t even be finalised in their political lifetime?

Making decisions that will yield long-term benefits is difficult when the policymaker’s future depends on the five-year political cycle. The solution to this dilemma lies in political consensus. 

If responsibility is shared across both the government and the opposition for this sort of unpopular, but sorely needed, policy decisions then the threat of voter retribution is significantly reduced.  

If Bonett wants to make meaningful headway in addressing the traffic problem, then he must reach across the aisle and bring the opposition on board.

Reducing personal car use holds the potential to reduce the negative impacts of transport.

eCabs Malta CEO Andrew Bezzina

Shadow transport minister Adrian Delia must also rise to this challenge and show the sort of political maturity and long-term thinking that is so desperately needed if we are to truly tackle the traffic problem. This could be a watershed moment for Malta – a political coming-of-age where we finally begin addressing the traffic situation in a meaningful way.   

Bonett’s first comments to the media shortly after being sworn into office are encouraging.

He was right when he told reporters that the solutions are long-term and require stakeholder input.

Make no mistake about it: the situation is critical. 

According to the number-crunchers at the NSO, there are now more than 18,000 vehicles squeezed into every square kilometre of road in Malta – the smallest and most densely populated country in the EU.

As the CEO of the only locally based ride-hailing operation in Malta, I recognise that we too play a big role here. 

The ride-hailing sector has added new vehicles to our roads and eCabs hopes to engage with Bonett to untangle this sector and introduce workable policies to improve the situation. 

Solutions exist.

This is a goal eCabs shares with cities around the world and with good reason. Because reducing personal car use holds the potential to reduce the negative impacts of transport and unlock our urban spaces. From air pollution to traffic accidents and the vast amounts of space used for parking and new roads which, instead, could be given back to the people who actually live in our towns and villages. 

But, to achieve this, we need political maturity and consensus.

Across the globe, countries and cities have gone on to reap the benefits of truly liveable urban spaces after making difficult policy decisions. 

It can work here too.

This opinion piece by eCabs Malta CEO Dr Andrew Bezzina was published in The Times of Malta.

eCabs Malta CEO Dr Andrew Bezzina says that we already know what decisions need to be taken to solve Malta’s transport nightmare.

Earlier this week, figures were released by the National Statistics Office which laid bare Malta’s obsession with the personal car.    

According to the number-crunchers at the NSO, there are now more than 18,000 vehicles squeezed into every square kilometre of road in Malta – the smallest and most densely populated country in the EU.

Three in every four of these, around 14,000, are passenger vehicles – which is another way of saying personal and family cars. 

Other figures published this week, this time by the University of Malta, found that despite increased awareness of global warming and the climate crisis, younger people and students are even more attached to their cars than their elders.

It is clear to see then that Malta and the Maltese are dependent on private cars as their primary means of transport and that this doesn’t seem to be changing.   

Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard all of this.

Ten years ago, an EU-wide survey found that traffic congestion is a bigger headache for the Maltese than any other European citizen.

Since then, survey after survey has shown that traffic and mobility remain horn-honkingly present in Malta’s list of top concerns.     

Throwing millions of Euros at road projects is not working

Traffic, as we all too often say, is a nightmare.

A few years ago, a policy decision was taken to start throwing millions of Euros at road projects.

This addressed the infrastructural deficit that had persisted for several years. But it was not coupled with the necessary investment in support infrastructure for alternative means of transport.

And although it was pointed out by academics and transport experts at the time that widening roads would simply invite more congestion – the policy decision to build roads had been taken and so build more roads we did.    

Today that prediction has come true and again, as a country, we today find ourselves asking the question: How can we fix our transport system?  

Earlier this month I was a guest at the Malta Sustainability Forum, where transport experts went through the gears of discussing this problem. 

And a few days earlier my brother Matthew sat on another panel of transport thinkers, this time for an event organised by Times of Malta, on the same subject. 

Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia was also on that panel. 

He had the unenviable role of being expected to say what he is going to do to curtail private car use in front of a packed audience that included representatives of some of the island’s major car importers. 

Farrugia’s response? He is meeting stakeholders to update policy documents and decide what decisions need to be taken. 

We already know the solution to Malta’s transport nightmare

The truth is however that we already know what decisions need to be taken.

They are clearly defined in transport policy documents that have already been published.

In 2016 the National Transport Strategy for 2050 and Draft National Transport Plan 2025 were put out for public consultation.

The goal, the 2050 strategy says, is to “reduce congestion through the increased use of other transportation modes”.

The document goes on to say that to do this we must “increase societal awareness on the need for sustainable travel choices”.

Can multi-modality fix our transport nightmare?  

The solution this policy document is proposing is a concept known as multi-modality. As the name implies, the use of multiple modes of transport to get to your daily destinations.

It’s the belief that moving away from dependence on the private car by providing other reliable ways of getting from A to B can decongest our clogged urban spaces and make them better places to live.

This is a goal eCabs shares with cities around the world, and with good reason: Because reducing personal car use holds the potential to reduce the negative impacts of transport and unlock our urban spaces.

From air pollution to traffic accidents, and the vast amounts of space used for parking and new roads which instead could be used for gardens, parks, and wide-open walkways. 

To achieve this, we need policymakers to stop rewriting policy documents, which have already been written, and start implementing their recommendations. 

Changing the way we think about travel

This kind of change, however, doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

We also need to change the way we think about travel on a personal level.

Integrating walking, cycling, ferries, scooters, buses, and yes, ride-hailing too, into our travel routines is the solution.

Ride-hailing is part of this solution. One car shared by 20 people in a day is 20 cars off the road.

Operating a fleet of ride-hailing vehicles and developing the tech that supports thousands of partner drivers in Malta and beyond has given me a unique point of view on embracing this shift.  

Across the globe countries and cities that have embraced multi-modality have gone on to reap the benefits of truly livable urban spaces. 

It can work here too. 

In the Press:

The Times of Malta | Lovin’ Malta