ADPD unimpressed by 'costly' traffic reducing initiatives

The Green Party has criticised the government’s latest transport proposals as costly and ineffective, arguing they fail to offer serious solutions to Malta’s chronic traffic and pollution problems. 

During a press conference in Fleur-de-Lys, the ADPD said the proposals put forward by transport minister Chris Bonett are “a superficial attempt to address the problems so that the Ministry would appear to be doing something.”

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ADPD secretary general Ralph Cassar said the measures lack the ambition needed to address the country’s overdependence on cars.

He criticised the recent decision to convert part of a secondary school in Ħamrun into a car park. Cassar also argued that decades of road-building have only worsened traffic, and called for an end to fuel subsidies and a shift toward public transport and active mobility.

Cassar urged the government to follow through on its own transport masterplan, including long-promised “bus priority corridors” in congested areas like Valletta, Sliema, Gżira, and Birkirkara. He said public space should be reclaimed for pedestrians, cyclists, and mass transit, rather than private cars. 

The party also proposed a nationwide network of safe bike lanes and the immediate rollout of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system powered by clean energy, which Cassar described as a quicker and cheaper alternative to a metro system.

ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci echoed the criticism, describing the government’s €15 million vehicle scrappage scheme as wasteful. 

Gauci argued that park-and-ride facilities won’t work unless access to central areas is limited. She said that while proposals like marine transport are welcome, the overall approach lacks the political will to drive real change. 

“We are afraid that the Maltese government is also keen to maintain the status quo, by implementing half-baked proposals that will not have any major impact on the current problem,” she concluded.