Transport Malta publishes expression of interest for public bus service

Transport Malta has published an Expression of Interest notice for the provision of a national scheduled bus service for Malta and Gozo.

This follows an exit agreement negotiated between Transport Malta and former operator Arriva Malta, which led to the setting up of Malta Public Transport Services (Operations) Limited.

"We're looking for a serious company that can truly become the driving force of our country and provide a reliable, efficient and social service. It is crucial that the buses provided by a new operator are suitable for our roads, environmentally-friendly and safe. We want a sustainable service that works and succeeds in actually increasing bus use," Transport Malta chairman James Piscopo said.

Interested parties will be able to bid for the exclusive concession rights until July 2021 with the immediate option to extend this to either 10 or 15 years.

The notice says professional and competent candidates must:

1) Improve the level of service in order to meet the public's needs and increase bus patronage;

2) Optimise the efficiency and effectiveness of the route network, taking into account social considerations;

3) Add a number of buses to the fleet to meet route network requirements and replace the temporary coaches and buses currently in use.

4) Upgrade the existing information technology and communication systems to provide more effective operational control as well as reliable information for users and the authority;

5) Shift the majority of ticket sales to off-bus ticketing and regular travel solutions, drastically reducing on-bus ticketing and period tickets within one year.

All buses must be at least Euro 5 compliant, be fully accessible (low-floor), be suitable for the route they are operating on and must not exceed 12.5 metres in length.

The buses must also be compliant with EU legislation and not be older than 15 years at any point throughout the concession agreement term.

Interested parties will be required to provide detailed descriptions of how the operations will be managed, with specific reference to: timetables, bus fleet management, facilities, driver allocation, remote-monitoring, reliability and punctuality, communication and bus cleanliness.

The expression of interest also makes direct requests for revenue management, fraud mitigation, vehicle tracking, fire prevention plans, health and safety plans and measures to reduce the number of breakdowns.

Besides shifting to off-bus ticketing, interested parties must also provide an outline of the branding and marketing strategy to address the current perception towards public transport.

The document also makes requests details of initiatives to be undertaken beyond what is required at law to mitigate the environmental cost of the operation other than the emission levels of the buses.

Interested parties are also given the option to bid for a group of routes or some of the operating company's assets, although the priority remains to have one single operator operating the entire network.

The closing date for submissions is April 7th, 2014.