Buses carried record 6.5 million passengers in October

Buses carried a record-breaking 6.5 million passengers in October, surpassing the previous high of 6.1 million achieved in August, Malta Public Transport said.

The company attributed the increase in passengers to the expansion of the fleet with 30 fully electric buses in September, which led to an additional 410 daily trips.

The new buses were used to increase frequencies on 16 key routes connecting high-passenger-demand localities across Malta, MPT said.

The investment in electric buses is expected to lead to an annual reduction of over 1,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

MPT General Manager Konrad Pulè said the company’s recent investments had a positive impact on passenger numbers and mobility in general. “This is part of our commitment to continue improving our bus service for everyone’s benefit in Malta and Gozo,” he said.

Since October last year government has been fully subsidising bus travel, which is free for passengers who have a Tal-Linja card.

In 2023, the government budgeted €40 million in subsidies for public transport to cover the routes outlined in the public service obligation (PSO), and a further €14 million to finance the free travel of Tal-Linja card users.

The respective subsidies for 2024 are estimated to reach €49 million for the PSO and €25 million to cover free travel.

In his budget speech, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said the impact of the scheme offering free bus travel will be analysed and a study carried out to determine how to improve the service.

Caruana also said studies were underway to determine where priority lanes for buses should be introduced on the road network.