Transport Malta will resurface Kirkop Junction. Works will start tonight and continue the following night. On both nights, works will start at 20:30 and finish early in the morning to minimise traffic disruption.
The junction will remain accessible to vehicles but parts of the carriageways will be restricted at different times.
Kindly avoid the area when possible. Follow the temporary signs and official’s instructions.
Constructive meeting on Public Transport with Local Councils
The minister for Transport and Infrastructure together with Transport Malta’s Chairman, called for a meeting with all mayors to discuss public transport. Most Local Councils were present and a constructive discussion ensued.
A representative of the operator and officials from Transport Malta were present for the meeting. Most complaints received revolved around the punctuality of the service rather than the routes themselves. The operator will be looking into the matter and taking steps to resolve the issues.
A number of changes in Mater Dei will be implemented in the upcoming weeks.
Very few passengers boarded at St. Luke’s hospital on Mater Dei routes. The routes were thus unnecessarily lengthened. The buses will no longer stop at St. Luke’s hospital. Mater Dei Routes will be around 15 minutes faster. Instead Route 122 between Valletta and St. Luke’s hospital will have its frequency increased.
Route X1 of 06:45 will no longer go through Mellieħa centre to reduce the time it takes to reach Mater Dei hospital and University from Ċirkewwa. This follows suggestions by Gozitan students.
Transport Malta and the Mater Dei administration identified a different location for parked buses at the University interchange. The current congestion that results in particular times will thus be reduced.
Mater Dei routes, route X1 and X2 will serve Mater Dei hospital and University. Passengers will no longer need to change buses at the University interchange.
T’Alla u Ommu road is now open for vehicles
Transport Malta would like to advise that T’Alla u Ommu Hill is now open to traffic.
Drivers are advised to drive with caution as there are still ongoing works and investigations on the road between T’Alla u Ommu Hill and Triq is-Salini. Substantial works to the storm water system within this road has been carried out.
Given the extensive damage encountered, it is not excluded that Transport Malta will have to carry out further works based on tests, over the coming months.
Transport Malta commends the University Students’ Council’s initiative to provide a car park for car poolers. Transport Malta encourages more firms and entities to implement such initiatives.
The authority, for the past months, has been supporting the initiative Bum a Lift. The initiative is gradually introducing the culture of car pooling among parents who drive their kids to school. Bum a lift is operating in five private schools and will be extended to more schools in the coming months. Apart from schools, Bum a lift will be used by a number of firms. Transport Malta will also be using the initiative to promote car pooling among its employees.
Transport Malta authored a document which is being discussed internally. The document proposes a number of incentives for car poolers and introduces a new concept for our country, Car Sharing. An operator will provide a fleet of vehicles for the public. A person will be able to book a short trip from a reserved parking space to another through a mobile app or computer. The more people use the same parked car, the more parking spaces available and the less traffic caused by cars looking for parking in urban centres.
In the coming months, Transport Malta together with the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure will launch a number of projects and initiatives to promote alternative modes of transport.
Transport Malta discovered extensive damage in the stormwater system of T’Alla w Ommu area. The authority started maintenance works on the system days ago. The team discovered that a critical part of the system, buried beneath the road surface, collapsed completely.
Transport Malta will install new pipes and will rebuild parts of the system from scratch. Subsequently, the works will take longer than originally planned. T’Alla w Ommu hill will remain closed until Thursday 4th February.
Vehicles will use Triq Burmarrad and Triq il-Kosta.
We apologise for the inconvenience.
As part of the preparatory works related to the Kappara Junction project, Transport Malta will be resurfacing part of Triq Birkirkara San Ġwann. One carriageway will be closed to vehicular traffic between Monday 25th and Friday 29th January 2016.
Traffic from Triq Tas-Sliema Kappara towards Triq in-Naxxar San Ġwann will not be obstructed. Traffic from Triq in-Naxxar San Ġwann towards Triq Tas-Sliema Kappara will be diverted through alternative routes.
Route 120 from St. Julian’s to Mater Dei Hospital will be diverted onto Triq R. Caruana Dingli to Triq Bellavista. No service will be provided in the area of San Ġwann Parish Church. Journey to Pembroke P & R will not be affected.
Motorists are advised to proceed with caution and to follow the diversion signs.
Government extends and improves the latest Grant Scheme on the Purchase of Electric Vehicles to promote electromobility for individuals, registered NGOs and Private Companies
After the successful launch and full uptake of the 2013-2014 grant scheme to promote the use of Electric Vehicles between, Transport Malta, in conjunction with the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure, is introducing an improved scheme in the form of a number of grants to incentivise the purchase of Battery Electric Vehicles and Battery Electric Quadricyclles which is now open for the general public, Registered NGOs and Private Companies.
This scheme is aimed at reducing the number of old motor vehicles from the road while promoting the use of clean and energy efficient vehicles as a way to contribute towards the reduction of traffic generated pollution and improvement of air quality levels.
Subject to various conditions, the grant is divided in three combinations and besides applicable to private persons it has now been extended to registered NGOs and the business community as indicated in the scheme itself.
A grant of €7,000 will be given to persons registering a new electric vehicle (or an electric hybrid vehicle capable to carry out at least 80 km on pure electricity) while scrapping an older vehicle which is at least ten years old from the year of manufacture.
The grant shall decrease from €7,000 to €4,000 in cases of persons registering in Malta a used Battery Electric Vehicle which has never been registered to be used on Maltese roads before, or for the purchased of a newly purchased electric vehicle but which is not in conjunction with the scrappage scheme referred to above.
In addition a grant of €2,000 is also on offer for those registering an electric quadricyle, irrespective of this being new or used as long as keeping in line with the conditions indicated in the published notice.
With respect to used electric vehicles, the grant is only applicable for Battery Electric Vehicles of being not more than 24 months old from date of first registration and not more than 12,000 km on the odometer
Applications will be handled on a first come first served basis. Companies which have already benefited from the last scheme with respect to electric vehicles are eligible to benefit again from this scheme as long as they are in line with state aid regulations. The declarations submitted in this regard will be scrutinised accordingly.
This is another initiative of the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure and Transport Malta as part of Government policy to promote the use of clean and energy efficient vehicles.
In addition to this initiative, over the coming few weeks, the Government will launch other initiatives in the form of grants to assist new electric vehicle importers to invest in the technology and re-training of their staff as well as other measures for private companies to install electric car charging infrastructure.
These initiatives are over and above other measures and projects which the Government will launch over the coming few months to promote sustainable mobility, including car sharing and e-bike-sharing initiatives.
Applications for these schemes shall be available, as from tomorrow, from Transport Malta Offices, Vehicle Licensing Unit, Hornsworks Ditch, Floriana or downloaded from www.transport.gov.mt/land-transport/
For further information kindly contact Transport Malta on freephone 8007 2393, by email on info.tm@transport.gov.mt or online through the Servizz.gov website.
Information Meeting on the Licensing and Use of Animals and Animal-Drawn Vehicles on the Road
Transport Malta u l-Għaqda Żwiemel u Kultura (GĦŻK), are organising an information meeting for owners and enthusiasts who make use of horses or horse-drawn vehicles on the road.
The aim of this meeting is to explain the new obligations arising from the Use of Animals and Animal-Drawn Vehicles on the Road, Regulations (Legal Notice 432 of 2015), which were published in Government Gazette of 24th December 2015.
The meeting will take place on Friday 15th January 2016 at 19:30hrs in the hall of Mount Carmel Hospital, Mdina Road, Ħ’Attard. Anyone interested is encouraged to attend.
More information on this meeting can be obtained from the Office of GĦŻK on 99059906, or from the Customer Care Office of Transport Malta, in Sa Maison on Freephone 80072393 or by sending an email to: info.tm@transport.gov.mt.
Transport Malta Monitoring Implementation of New Routes
Route Network increased by 2,800 trips every week and by 2.5 million kilometres every year.
Transport Malta (TM) is currently monitoring the implementation of the new routes introduced on 22nd December.
During 2015, Transport Malta introduced 24 new routes, changed 43 routes and added 80 new bus stops. Every locality now has a direct service to Valletta and Mater Dei Hospital. 142 new buses, equipped with environmental friendly Euro 6 engines, have joined the service. The buses will now do 36,600 trips every week, an increase of over 2,800 trips. They will cover 2.5 million kilometres more each year.
Whilst still premature to make an objective assessment of the changes implemented, feedback received so far indicates that many commuters are being served better. Negative complaints received are localised to certain areas or localities and TM acknowledges the fact that some routes, such as X1, necessitate some tweaking including adjustment in frequencies. TM is committed to look into such concerns and shall be addressing issues raised by the public and local councils. The Authority will fine tune and adjust routes to ensure that the public is served better and confident to use public transport.
The new routes designed following an extensive consultation period during which more than 3,500 proposals were considered. Now that the service is operating with normal schedules, commuters are still adjusting their travel patters to new routes. As expected, this takes more than one week.
Until 3rd January, as customary during the festive season, the service was operating on Saturday schedule and thus somewhat reduced service.
END
Gas Conversion Scheme to Convert Vehicles to Autogas/LPG
As announced in the Budget 2016 speech, the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure in conjunction with Transport Malta, is launching another scheme to give an incentive for vehicle owners to convert their vehicle’s fuel system to Autogas/LPG.
This is another environment friendly budget measure aimed at reducing the amount of emissions generated from road traffic. Subject to various conditions, the grant amounts to €200 which will be given upon the conversion to Autogas/LPG of a Category M1 vehicle, (a passenger vehicle with a seating capacity of up to eight passengers and the driver) or a Category N1 vehicle, (a vehicle designed and constructed for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes).
The scheme comes into effect as from the 1st January 2016 and closes on the 31st December 2016 or earlier if the maximum of 250 claims has been reached. Applications are processed on a first come first serve basis. Persons who have converted their vehicle to Autogas in 2015 may still apply for the scheme.
Applications for such scheme are available from Transport Malta Offices, Vehicle Licensing Unit, Hornsworks Ditch, Floriana or downloaded here.
Transport Malta News 
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