90-day bus ticket least popular with public transport users

The total number of commuters using public transport in 2013 totalled 39,438,822, a statistical report on transport use revealed.

On a monthly basis, an average of 3,286,569 commuters made use of the public transport services which at the time was still run by Arriva.

As expected, transport usage peaked during the summer months of July and August, with commuters totalling 3,912,389 and 3,856,756 respectively.

While Arriva offered various ticket fee options, the 90-day ticket turned to be the least popular, with just 6,646 tickets sold in Malta and none in Gozo.

A total of 11,576,449 tickets were sold across Malta and Gozo: the majority, 11,240,665 were sold in Malta while the rest, 335,784, were sold in Gozo.

2,545 of the 90-day tickets were sold to students whereas students in Gozo opted for the 30-day ticket. A separate 19,806 students in Malta purchased the 30-day ticket.

The most popular was one the one-day ticket, with 9,086,922 tickets sold in a year. The tickets include purchases made by residents and non-residents.

1,781,063 commuters purchased the 2-hour ticket while the 7-day ticket was bought by 666,767 public transport users.

The figures exclude ticket sales of night services and the park and ride.

According to the report, there are 1,925 bus stops across the Maltese and Gozitan roads with 521 bus shelters and a public transport servicing 99 routes.