Launch of new Valletta Ferry discounts for ‘tallinja’ card users

Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, Ian Borg, inaugurated a new scheme of discounts, “to encourage more commuters to use the services of the Valletta Ferry”, which connects Valletta to Sliema and Cottonera. These discounts will be available to all ‘tallinja’ card users as from today.

The ‘tallinja’ card, which was “intended as a travel card, which facilitates journey payment for passengers” said Borg, has been given an added benefit. All ‘tallinja’ holders, exceeding 270,000, can now benefit from this service.

According to Borg, “this new service facilitates the use of the ferry service by giving passengers the option to pay through their tallinja card, whilst benefitting from a discount om the price of each journey”.

Borg went on to add that adults will pay €1.30 instead of the regular price of €1.50, while persons with disability and elderly people will pay €0.45 instead of €0.50. Night ferry services will also be discounted from €1.75 to €1.65 for all those who use the card.

Borg emphasised the importance of these initiatives, in order to facilitate commuting to the Valletta area, by using these two services in our country’s transport system.

'These services are in line with our vision for the Maltese transport sector, as we seek to incentivise more commuters to move away from private cars and make more use of alternative modes of transport', said Borg

“These services are in line with our vision for the Maltese transport sector, as we seek to incentivise more commuters to move away from private cars and make more use of alternative modes of transport. The number of passengers using buses and the ferry services is increasing every year. By using these services, passengers are helping to reduce the number of vehicles on our roads, reducing their travel costs whilst enjoying a much more relaxing commute. At the same time, by freeing up space on our roads, they are facilitating private car transport for those who cannot opt for other modes of transport.”

More than one million passengers made us of the ferry service in 2016, with that figure exceeding over 600,000 in the first half of 2017.

Borg maintained that the ‘tallinja’ card system has had a “positive effect” on the efficiency of the bus services.

“This card payment system is decreasing the time lost in thousands of cash transactions” and also “help reduce queues and service delays”, he said. Borg went on to add that the capping system, which was introduced with the card, is “incentivizing regular bus passengers to make more of this service by paying a maximum of €26 a month, no matter how much they travel”.