‘Give us another day off school’: youth parliament’s suggestion to ease traffic

Video is unavailable at this time.

Schools should open four days a week, without reducing the amount of weekly school hours, as a means of tackling Malta’s traffic congestion problem, according to youths debating at the National Youth Parliament.

According to the proposal – one of 102 transport-related proposals drawn by 17 youths aged between 13 and 18 and spearheaded by Therese Lia– schools should be divided into five groups, each of which will be closed on one of the five weekdays, on an annually rotating basis.

The idea was floated as a possible alternative to a controversial government White Paper proposal that schools open their gates at least an hour earlier to reduce early-morning traffic.  

The youths also suggested that all schools and tertiary education institutions leave ample parking room for bicycles, pedelecs and motorcycles, and that schools start teaching students about traffic and alternative means of transport from primary school level.

With regards means of reducing traffic, the youths vehemently rejected schemes aimed at placing a greater financial burden on private car ownership, arguing that this would lead to social injustice – with people living on the poverty line unable to purchase a vehicle. Instead, they called for the incentivisation of alternative means of transport such as ferries, pedelecs and bicycles, controlled vehicular access schemes, harsh fines on people found double parking, and cheaper costs for motorcycle licenses.

Attributing Malta’s continuous traffic increase to an inefficient public transport system, the youths called for further investment in the bus system – included Wi-fi access on board, travel information on every bus stop and enhanced security. They also called for the buses’ tracking devices to be accessible to the public, so that they will be able to search for the bus that they are waiting for. They also suggested that more direct bus routes to university and sixth forms be set up and that bus drivers be trained in people skills. Moreover, bus routes with stops in close proximity of each other should be shortened.

They also suggested the introduction of a national mini-bus scheme whose vehicles will pick up people from bus stops brimming with people. In the long term, they envisage a monorail or a light railway system, similar to the Docklands Light Railway in London

Shadow transport minister Marthese Portelli said that Malta should seek means of incentivizing more people to use taxis and minibuses, both as a means of generating jobs within the industry and of reducing traffic congestion.
 

She also suggested the setting up of minibus terminus within localities across Malta.

“Traffic isn’t a new phenomenon but it has continued to increase in recent years, and is now at saturation point,” she said. “The time is ripe to start thinking outside the box.”

She also suggested that roadworks be coordinated more adequately, that businesses receive incentives for carpooling schemes, and that the collection of waste doesn’t coincide with peak traffic hours. Moreover, she argued that a lot of Maltese workplaces are far too consolidated in certain urban areas such as Valletta, Sliema, and Fgura – leading to heavy rush hour traffic congestion in certain areas.

Despite a change in the service provider, she warned that public transport is still not up to scratch – with people still concerned about bus punctuality and packed buses, two problems that discourage them from using public transport.

However, she sounded a pessimistic tone over proposals to create bicycle lanes, questioning whether Malta’s road infrastructure will permit them and whether many people will actually make use of them.

Highlighting the economic cost of traffic, she claimed that half an hour a day in traffic for people earning €5 an hour is equivalent to them losing €900 a year through a waste of productivity time. She also argued that a high volume of cars places a strain on the roads, leading to a necessity to strengthen the tarmac.   

“The effect of any proposals put forward for alternative means of transport should not be seen or considered in isolation,” she said. “Proposals and their impact have to be studied well holistically, taking into consideration the economic, social, health and environmental aspects. We must move from sporadic proposals to a holistic plan.”

Tuesday Cabinet session broke earlier to attend Youth Parl. PM @JosephMuscat_JM, Ministers following attentively. pic.twitter.com/WVtT0xv9M2

— Kurt Farrugia (@KurtFarrugia) September 22, 2015