A Public Transport Proposal for the Maltese Islands

As most residents of the Maltese islands are aware, the public transport system in Malta is far from adequate and change is required to enable residents and visitors to the islands to get around more easily and faster than at the current snail’s pace. There is a serious problem with overpopulation in Malta and with approximately 47 new vehicles being registered to drive on Maltese roads per day, the problem is only getting worse.

Picture by Steve Bonello (https://www.facebook.com/Stevebonelloart/)

For years, the Maltese government has continued to attempt to introduce stop-gap measures hoping to silence the masses and prolong the inevitable crumbling of our road infrastructure, with the added threat of destroying the few green spaces left on our islands to make way for more and wider roads. 

THIS NEEDS TO STOP!

A rethink of the public transport system is sorely needed and by looking at other countries who have been in similar situations and solved the problems associated with high traffic densities, as well as thinking outside the box, we can design and implement a public transport system that works well for residents and visitors alike and clears up our road, reducing road-rage induced stress and constant road development, and oh so much dust! A long-term plan for the overhaul of the current system and implementation of a smart, economical and efficient service will benefit the country and all current and future generations. This, however, will only happen if the government listens to the needs of the country and its people and has the courage to embark on a long journey to implement it without worrying about losing votes to people and industries who might be dumb enough to oppose it, or have their own greed-induced agenda for doing so.

A long-term plan for the overhaul of the current system and implementation of a smart, economical and efficient service will benefit the country and all current and future generations.

Due to the size of the Maltese Islands and the structure of their inter-connected towns and villages, a good comparison to make is that of a major city. Therefore, when embarking on a proposal for the design of a new public transport system, it would be good practice to compare it to other major cities across the world. Another item to note is that, due to Malta’s current economic successes and proposed growth, funding of such a project should not be a problem if budgeted for appropriately, and by choosing a developer with experience as opposed to the cheapest or “friendliest” bidder, we should be able to successfully achieve the desired result in the time required.

Currently, public transportation consists of a bus network and a few ferry services in parts of the island. This is not feasible for the current, or future, infrastructure of the island. The large buses travelling on Maltese roads add to the congestion and are not efficient or reliable at all. Who would blame somebody for using their private car to get to work in the morning when they know that using public transport will mean that they are almost guaranteed to arrive late on a daily basis, adding to the congestion on the road that causes these buses to be unable to keep to their intended schedule? It is a vicious cycle and the solution is not to fix or widen the roads, but to overhaul the way in which people travel around the islands.

Therefore, the only way to alleviate the current and inevitable future traffic and travel problems in the Maltese Islands, would be to design and implement a sustainable and efficient public transport system, encouraging people to use it through incentives and then discourage the use of personal vehicles unless absolutely necessary. This will act as a triple-edged sword to:

• resolve the traffic problems,
• reduce the amount of disruptive and damaging (to health and the natural environment) road works,
• while also giving residents a much better quality of life

For consideration of this proposal, the Maltese Islands refer to Malta and Gozo, and not the other islands in the Maltese archipelago. Please, leave Comino alone and completely out of this! Enough damage has already been done there!

An opinionated proposal

First and foremost, I would like to state that I am no transportation expert or engineer but have done my fair share of travelling, witnessing public transport in other parts of the world and consider myself to be pretty well educated. That being said, this is solely an opinion piece so please do not butcher me with talk of “Who does he think he is?”, “What does he know about public transport?”, and the like. If you don’t like what I have to say then don’t read it!

The proposal I would like to lay out is one that mixes land transport with sea transport in an efficient and seamless way. We are an island nation after all and should therefore look at both modes of transport. At this point, I can already hear chants of “but we’re getting an underwater tunnel between Malta and Gozo so we don’t need ferries any more”, and to this I say “scrap the tunnel, we don’t need it, and the money can be spent in better ways, such as improving overall public transport!”. I am aware that a number of Maltese and Gozitan residents are optimistic about the tunnel connecting the two islands enabling people to drive from one to the other, but I am not one of those people. Again, this is my opinion and you are free to disagree with it.

If you don’t like what I have to say then don’t read it!

Instead of spending millions on a tunnel, the money and expertise can be put to better use by implementing a system that will benefit the entire population of the Maltese islands as opposed to only those that travel between Malta and Gozo on a regular basis. The proposal is simple and comprises of the following:

• An overhead monorail system connecting major cities in Malta and Gozo to each other
• A small electric bus service from monorail stations to more specific locations
• A fast ferry service from a number of different locations
• Retention of the current ferry service (Gozo Channel) between Malta and Gozo
• Re-introduction of a ferry between Malta and Gozo for commercial goods and vehicles

The use of technologies such as machine learning, online subscription and notifications services, mobile phone travel applications, and contactless/RFID travel cards will assist in implementing the system to be as autonomous as possible.

Monorail

The concept of trains is far from new and it is hard to find a major city that does not utilise some form of train system, whether it is underground, tram lines, overhead monorail or standard over-ground trains. Therefore, the logical route to take when thinking about public transportation is to envision how trains can be implemented in the Maltese Islands.

• Underground is costly and will take a very long time to complete while inconveniencing all citizens and requiring constant high-cost maintenance. Although it works for some cities I do not believe it is the right system for the Maltese Islands.
• There is no land left for the installation of over-ground (road-level) trains and I don’t believe that land reclamation should be necessary to implement a working public transportation system, or for any other reason currently for that matter, but let’s stick to the public transportation debate.
• Therefore, after some careful thought, the only logical implementation left would be the installation of an overhead monorail system connecting major towns and cities in Malta and Gozo.

An overhead monorail system can be pre-fabricated elsewhere prior to installation in Malta and Gozo meaning much less of an inconvenience to commuters, lower costs for the government and taxpayers, and less time required for installation and implementation.

Below is an interactive concept map of the proposed monorail network with major stations or “hubs” located all around the islands.

Where a commuter can’t be taken to their desired location using the monorail system, small electric buses will step in to transport people from the closest station to a bus stop nearby with the bus stop systems being isolated from each other enabling better control of traffic flows.

Like almost all train systems globally, the monorail will run on electricity, and with an added increase in the usage of renewable energy sources for electricity generation, will contribute to a corresponding increase in the energy efficiency of the country and assist with the hitting of yearly EU-related targets for the reduction in the burning of fossil fuels.

The fact that the monorail system can be placed over the roads will mean that no land reclamation is required and the already congested roads can remain untouched, to a certain extent, with the tracks being placed over centre strips in most areas, and over roads where this is not possible. If designed properly, the system can also be implemented tastefully, placating those that fear that the implementation of such a system will ruin the landscape of the island. Though to be honest it’s probably too late to worry about that anyway!

Intra-sector Bus System

Instead of the mammoth buses chugging along the already congested roads, smaller electric buses can be implemented in different sectors of the island, with their routes beginning and ending at the monorail hubs. This means that commuters are still able to get to where they need to go without having to walk multiple kilometres from the hubs to their home, school, or place of work, for example. Being electric and smaller, these buses will also contribute to the energy efficiency of the country over all. Apart from the added benefit of just being energy efficient and helping to save the planet, the size of the buses will also alleviate road congestion in towns and villages across the islands.

In order for this bus system to work successfully, the island will be split up into “sectors” and the different buses leaving from the monorail hubs will only operate within that sector in order to keep the system organised and reduce these buses having to travel across long distances and clog up major roads and bypasses. This will also aid in the most efficient utilisation of the electric buses' battery charge, as well as ensuring that they are always close to a required charging station to avoid any mishaps.

Fast Ferry Service

There currently already exist a number of fast ferry services in Malta, the most popular being the one between Sliema and Valletta. Being an island nation, I believe fast ferry services would be the perfect companion to a monorail and bus service.

Fast ferry services can take customers from one place to another where the shortest distance to travel is via the sea or where travelling over land is not possible, such as between Malta and Gozo. This service will be solely for passengers without their vehicles, enabling them to be smaller and much faster.

An example of some of the routes that such a service could take would include, but not be limited to, the following:

• Cirkewwa – Mgarr
• Sliema – Valletta
• Valletta – Cottonera
• Bugibba – Pembroke

This will give commuters the option of travelling from one place to the other over sea, offering a possible reduction in travel time or even just a break from land travel, as well as a reduction in costs.

Just as other major cities do when weather conditions prohibit certain public transport services from running, when the fast ferry service is unable to run, a replacement service is introduced and clear instructions are presented to commuters using technologies to be discussed in the next section. This will enable people to be aware of any possible delays to their commute should they need to take a less speedy route to their destination.

Technology

In this day and age implementing up-to-date technologies with public transportation systems is common practice. Almost every major city provides its citizens and visitors with mobile applications capable of, for example, giving up to date information about services as well as allowing users to top up their travel cards and plan their journeys. The creation and provision of such mobile applications is essential to ensuring that the system is as desirable and easy to use as possible.

Mobile applications are not the only technology that is an essential piece of implementing efficient public transport solutions. The use of tracking and machine learning systems will enable authorities to plan ahead and ensure that any issues are dealt with before they happen, inform commuters of any issues, delays and/or changes, as well as improve the provision of public transport systems by collecting data and running simulations of different scenarios to reduce waiting and travelling times.

A whole host of other technologies exist but for the purpose of this proposal, I will not be delving too deep into what they are and how we can implement them. The most important is that these technologies are considered at the design phase and are followed through to the implementation phase and beyond.

A working example

An example of a typical trip using the newly proposed system can see someone travelling from Rabat in Gozo to Marsascala in Malta in under an hour with ease and comfort, and without the need to congest the already strained roads with a private vehicle spewing out carbon dioxide and particulate matter into the atmosphere with gay abandon.

1. Rabat, Gozo to Mgarr, Gozo – Monorail – 5 mins approx.
2. Mgarr, Gozo to Cirkewwa, Malta – Fast ferry service – 10 mins approx.
3. Cirkewwa, Malta to Marsascala, Malta – Monorail – 30 mins approx.

Conclusion

Although I consider this proposal to be valid for consideration I do not believe that it will be, and it will most likely fade into the annals of the internet as the weeks go by. That being said, I do hope that someone up there does put some serious thought into fixing this massive problem that has plagued our islands for years, and will only get worse as time goes by.

Don’t hold your breath though! I won’t be!