Mizzi confirms €23 million subsidy for national bus service

The subsidy for public transport will increase to €23 million in 2015, transport minister Joe Mizzi said on PBS this evening.

Speaking on TimesTalk, Mizzi refused to confirm whether bus fares will go up, insisting that they would remain affordable.

Any information will be given in the coming weeks, after the contract with Spanish bus firm ALESA is signed.

The former bus operator, Arriva Malta - a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn - was paid €10 million a year to operate the service. When it took on the network it was expected to run the service on a €6 million public service subsidiy.

The bus service was nationalised on 1 January 2014 with the departure of Arriva.