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Transport authority signs eight-year contract for Grand Harbour ferry
Transport Malta grants eight-year concession for maritime ferry for the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett port.
A new ferry service will offer daily trips across the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett ports.
Transport Malta has signed a contract with Marsamxetto Steamferry Services Ltd for the provision of a schedule maritime ferry services for the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett por
The contract signed is for a period of eight years.
The operator, chosen through a competitive tender, will operate two simultaneous services, one in each Port. The service in Marsamxett will commence immediately while the service in the Grand Harbour will coincide with the commissioning of the Valletta Barrakka lift.
The signing of the contract was possible after a court of justice turned down a request for a prohibitory injunction filed last month by three water taxi operators.
The ferry will provide a reliable maritime transport which on a fixed time schedule, offered at a regulated price.
The ferry will operate all year round, with departures operating at a maximum interval of thirty (30) minutes from each landing place, within a minimum stipulated schedule as follows in both ports:
Winter Schedule: Monday to Saturday: 07:00 hours till 18:00 hours and Sundays and Public Holidays: 10:00 hours till 16:00 hours.
Summer Schedule: Monday to Saturday: 07:00 hours till 19:00 hours and Sundays and Public Holidays: 09:00 hours till 18:00 hours.
One-way tickets will be sold at €1.50 for adults, and €0.50c for children up to 12 years of age and Kartanzjan and Blue Badge holders; while returns will be retailed at €2.80 for adults and €0.90c for concessions. A weekly pass for seven consecutive days will cost €10.
The regulated tariffs can only increase once every three years with an increase that is limited to inflationary costs and fuel prices. The prices must be approved by Transport Malta.
The ferry operator will contribute €300,000 of its revenue to Transport Malta, and will be obliged to invest in two new ferry vessels within 12 months from signing. Crew will have to be fluent in both Maltese and English languages and must wear a uniform and visible identification, apart from issuing a receipt for every ticket sold, maintain a website providing on-line information, timetables and an early warning to inform the general public of any disruptions and changes to the services due to bad weather.
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Flimkien kollox possibbli!
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What right have these politicians, including the Transport Minister Austin Gatt to lamp a new government democratically elected by the Maltese people with a contract that goes throughout the next legislature of 5 years? All such contracts should be scrapped. If the current government really means well it should either have entered into these contracts in 2008 or else wait six months after the upcoming elections. This undemocratic governance is all due to the attitude adopted in the past of business as usual. A new government should never adopt such an approach, but should scrutinise all these dirty contracts. Otherwise Malta will end up in the ownership of half a dozen people as has practically happened.
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All contracts, of whatever nature, since January 2012 bar none should be subject to rigorous scrutiny, and if need be revoked without any compensation whatsoever. These guys just cannot be trusted and have been proven rotten to the core!
