[WATCH] Public transport contract to be published this week, Transport Minister confirms

Joe Mizzi insists public transport service has improved

Transport minister Joe Mizzi will be tabling the contract signed with Spanish company Autobuses de Leon, more than a year after signing the deal with the new public transport operator.

The new operator, Malta Public Transport, was awarded a contract to run the public transport service near end 2014.

The opposition has long been calling for the publication of the contract, with the government promising to publish it in “due time.”

And in an interview published in today’s edition of MaltaToday on Sunday, Mizzi said that the agreement will be tabled in Parliament this week.

“I intended to publish the document immediately but given the opposition’s behaviour I realised that it was more useful to work on improving the service while allowing the opposition to speculate.”

He cited the opposition’s accusations that the new operator would fire all Maltese drivers to replace them with Spanish workers, a claim which proved to be untrue.

Mizzi listed a series of claims, including warnings of a price hike, which Mizzi says have all  turned out to be false.

But wouldn’t he put an end to speculation by publishing the agreement?

“No, they would only misinterpret things and create more confusion to their advantage. Things are not improved by being negative,” he says.

However he added that the agreement will be presented to Parliament this week.

Read the full interview in today's edition of MaltaToday on Sunday