As long as Joe can marry Salvu and adopt Ritshayanisienne, they think nobody will notice the real problems
Transport Minister Joe Mizzi, a know-nothing with a long career as an office dogsbody and 1960s technician, has admitted that the already huge public funds subsidy which the government is using to keep the bus service afloat is increasing by the day.
The bus service is the new Malta Drydocks/Shipbuilding.
Times of Malta reports:
The government subsidy for the operation of public transport is expected to increase substantially, the government is admitting.
It is quite clear that the €10 million in subsidies given to Arriva were not enough. The Opposition has said the subsidy will need to increase to some €45 million.
“I don’t want to say how much will be needed but it will definitely have to rise,” Transport Minister Joe Mizzi told Times of Malta.
It’s surprising – or perhaps not – that press reporting of this statement does not put it in the context of why this vast subsidy is required: the four decisions which Muscat’s government took:
1. having non-residents of Malta pay the same fare as residents of Malta (I agree with this, as the previous situation was absurd);
2. taking around 150 articulated (‘bendy’) buses out of the system and off the roads, which means that a much larger bus fleet is needed to carry the same number of passengers as previously; this does not mean only more actual buses, but also more drivers and more fuel;
3. wet-leasing those supplementary buses from the private sector, which means that they cost much more to operate than those actually owned by the bus service operator;
4. nationalising the service, which besides the obvious crippling cost and administrative burden to central government, also removes all pressure on the management to maximise revenue and cut costs.
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Having worked solely in the private sector, I cannot come to terms with the fact that a so-called “know-nothing” was still able to secure a position as a cabinet mnister.
Is it something wrong with Malta or with democracy itself?
Kurt, when you recast your question as “Is something wrong with ‘Malta under Labour’ or with democracy itself?” you’ll automatically get your answer.
Joe Mizzi is a one-eyed king among the politically blind Cottonera voters.
The bill should be sent to Times of Malta. They were the ones who chased after every Arriva bendy bus incident.
That’s right, ciccio. Times of Malta is also responsible for much of the damage done to the previous government, thus putting these stooges in power.
From the frying-pan into the fire – what a sad mess.
The factors you mention are probably what make a bad system much worse, but the public transport system needs to go back to the drawing board and be re-designed totally.
If the government wants to convert car-owners to public transport commuters, then the transport service needs to be more frequent, covering all hours one would use a car, and with fast links to everywhere, saving a person time, hassle of driving, and saving costs for owning and running a car (which are really quite substantial).
The price is a red herring – people are ready to pay relative to the quality and convenience of the service they receive. A means-tested annual card can be issued on a social basis for others who cannot afford a top notch service.
When these elements are addressed (at the right price – and not necessarily using a fleet of large vehicles, but a mix of small/large vehicles as necessary) public transport would start having an impact.
If a small single bus removes at least five cars from the road, it could offer practically a taxi service to five owners and still save them money. Going for large buses is not necessarily the only solution, going for the right quality-price ratio necessary to convert existing car owners is what should be the focus.
The economics of the system need to be studied properly; what we have is very poor thinking and too little research on the matter.
Kurt, the error lies with the man at the top. With a Prime Minister who has no morals or standards, what do you expect?
The majority of people in our country are cuckoo if they seriously thought this man could lead Malta anywhere but to the ground.
Jew gas down ġol ħajt.
And the majority of the supplementary buses wet-leased from UBS do not charge any fares. And I still cannot put my finger on the reason/s for the savage negative anti-Arriva campaign by Times of Malta.
It was orchestrated and paid for just as they used to do when in Opposition.
There are a number of ‘plants’ and moles working as journalists with various media.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140423/local/transport-subsidy-is-definitely-going-up.516047
And with the subsidy going up, expect a hefty rise in fares as well and soon.
But all is ‘OK’ in this sham of an island. And while I am writing about hefty rises, has anyone noticed how much the cost of living has skyrocketed, especially for food and other essential products?
If the bus subsidy is going up, will bus fares go up after EP election ?
Mhux jekk hux se jgħolew imma tista’ tibqa’ ċert. Daqskemm mhux se jgħola n-noll tal-vapur ta’ Għawdex.
Taparsi se nagħmlu l-priority boarding. Għal min u fost dawk li se jkollhom il-priority boarding min se jirkeb l-ewwel?
Nasal għall-konklużjoni li dawk li mhux ser jagħmlu priority booking jibgħqu idoqqul-Aida sakemm jaslu li jirkbu huma? Konfużjoni wara l-oħra… ħalli tgħaddil-elezzjoni tal-Parlament Ewropew, u naraw kemm ġejjin taxxi ġodda. Eviva l-bidla.
Qajddisi għid aħjar ix-xitan li naf milli dak li ma nafx. Imma kien hemm ħafna li ma ħasbuhiex bħali.
The Maltese media are inconsistent and malicious.
The day before yesterday a bus was involved in a heavy accident in Safi causing damage to third parties, road closed off for some hours. No report of that accident, because the bus is no longer Arriva.
Why do you ask? The Minister has already made it clear that bus fares will go up. One of the reasons he mentioned is that non-residents will be charged same fare as residents. He also said that one of ways to make up for the deficit in income is by paying on every bus we take..
Well, someone is profiting from the bus service debacle. The question is – who? Follow the money, and it’ll all be clear.
Arriva were a so-called “disaster”. then what is the service being provided now?
By the way, use the buses leased from UBS as you do not have to pay any fares.
Bendy buses are used all over the world, but Malta just has to be different.
I suspect that, had half the subsidy which will now become imperative been offered to Arriva, they could have operated the transport system very well. Of course, the catastrophic routes designed by the consultants hired by Transport Malta would have had to be scrapped in any case.
I have been using public transport during the last two years (not at the rush hour) and find it cheap and pretty reliable, at least on the Valletta-Sliema-St. Andrew’s route which is very popular with tourists. Higher frequency is required to cater for the number of foreigners who possibly make up the majority of commuters on this route.
I can also tell the difference between most of the drivers of the hired buses and the better-behaved and better-trained former Arriva drivers.
Unfortunately, the matter has become politicized and the fault lies not only with the present government but also with the unwarranted fanfare and arrogance with which the reformed service was launched by the previous government.
‘..I can also tell the difference between most of the drivers of the hired buses and the better-behaved and better-trained former Arriva drivers…’
Guess who’s being harassed and intimidated with the GWU looking elsewhere. The same GWU recorded colluding with a contractor for public tenders.
“Il-Ministru Mizzi fakkar ukoll kif il-Gvern preżenti bħalissa għaddej bil-proċess biex jidentifika l-aħjar operatur li se jkun responsabbli biex jipprovdi servizz effiċjenti u sostenibbli ta’ trasport pubbliku.” (Albert Gauci Cunningham).
On one hand we have Mizzi Joe li “għaddej bil-proċess biex jidentifika l-aħjar operatur li se jkun responsabbli biex jipprovdi servizz effiċjenti u sostenibbli ta’ trasport pubbliku”, and on the other we have Joe Mizzi declaring that it is not only impossible to have a sustainable public transport but it will only get worst. At least under his watch.
http://www.orizzont.com.mt/FullArticle.php?ID1='Ahbarijiet'&ID2=119388
http://youtu.be/TYZpgAse03M
Mizzi might be a right proper imbecile but he certainly knows where Malta’s oil deposits are.
He probably interprets the old adage literally.
Iz-zejt jitla’ f’wicc l-ilma.
That would make it really cheap to extract.
All we need is to relocate all our petrol stations along the coastline, MEPA permitting, and provide them with jellyfish filters.
What a disastrous lot.
What about the service we are getting? Old mini buses are being used even on many hospital routes. The elderly, those using walking aids or a wheelchair and mothers with pushchairs are not able to get on these mini buses.
Enough is enough, Mr. Mizzi.
This man is a fool. Arriva’s buses made no long-duration stops as the old system did, such as waiting for 15 minutes or half an hour at a village terminus.
Such wait times, that in a work day of 18 hours would add up to some 18 quarter hours = 4.5 hours per day per bus, means a loss on the capital investment of the bus itself, 4.5 hours of wasted driver pay resulting in a hefty loss that would run into millions in one year.
Now bus trips are back to the old regime, with huge losses being accumulated.
This minister needs to read a book on economics, or find a job cooking French fries at McDonalds drive-thru.