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Transport Malta asks Arriva to stop asking for birth certificates
Regulator informs public transport operator to desist from asking for birth certificates from ‘young, foreign-looking’ commuters.
3 November 2011, 12:00am
Raphael Vassallo
Raphael Vassallo
1 min read
Transport Malta has written to Arriva’s managing director Keith Bastow, asking the public transport service provider to immediately discontinue its policy of randomly asking 11, 12 and 13-year-old ‘foreign-looking’ passengers to show their birth certificates upon boarding the bus.
This unusual practice forms part of Arriva’s controversial policy to adopt a two-tier pricing system that charges higher tariffs to non-residents: a policy adopted after negotiations with Transport Malta as part of the ongoing public transport reform.
MaltaToday highlighted this practice in an article published two Sundays ago, which also revealed how Children’s Commissioner Helen D’Amato had already requested a clarification from ministry, after receiving numerous complaints from the public.
In a letter dated 28 October and copied to D’Amato, Konrad Pule, chief executive of the Lands Transport Directorate, observed that “the birth certificate does not in itself provide proof of residency, and goes against all discussions held between Transport Malta and Arriva malta on this issue, which led to the publishing of the Conditions of carriage by Transport Malta.”
Pule further instructed Arriva “to immediately instruct [their] personnel to stop requesting such certificates.”
The entire ‘two-tier’ pricing policy is currently under review by the European Commission, as it may possibly violate the EU’s discrimination laws.
Transport Minister Austin Gatt has however consistently defended this policy, pointing towards European countries such as Estonia which employ similar procedures.
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As usual gonziPN goes the wrong way about the matter.
If fare was to cost a certain amount until say 8.30 am and then increses until 03,00pm to 07.00pm when it reverts to low fare.
After 07.00pm it increases again untill o3.00 am then back to low fare until 08.30 am
This way the workers pay normal fare and after 0830 all those who need to use the bus have to pay the increase. Thus tourists will not be discriminated.
Same happens between 0300pm and 0730pm in the evening
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As usual gonziPN goes the wrong way about the matter.
If fare was to cost a certain amount until say 8.30 am and then increses until 03,00pm to 07.00pm when it reverts to low fare.
After 07.00pm it increases again untill o3.00 am then back to low fare until 08.30 am
This way the workers pay normal fare and after 0830 all those who need to use the bus have to pay the increase. Thus tourists will not be discriminated.
Same happens between 0300pm and 0730pm in the evening
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What's wrong with comparing to Estonia? There's a lot to learn from this country.
And no... no one asks for birth certificates in Estonia. We have those things called ID tickets that are actually virtual not real paper.
And another thing - no one in Estonia is charging foreigners (and Estonia has a lot of non-citizens) differently. Tallinn has a price-difference for 30-day tickets etc, but no such things for a day ticket. The system here is just ridiculous!
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Ok so now we are being compared to Estonia! Former USSR! Some progress we are making! In any case, could anyone clarify if in Estonia birth certificates are requested? Is it possible that we are governed by buffoons who cannot comprehend that obliging people to go about their daily business carrying birth certificates is simply not on? When I explain all this to my foreign friends, after a bout of laughter, they ask me...But how, how is it possible that you people put up with this? How? Have you been beaten into submission so severely?
