The long queues reported for the fast-ferry service in Valletta emerge as a warning sign for the Summer bottlenecks and traffic in Maltese roads as the number of tourists coming to the Islands keeps increasing. The fast-ferry service to Gozo was introduced as part of a wider plan to increase alternative methods of transport with the aim of reducing vehicles on the roads. The increasing number of tourists however is diminishing any positive impacts that the ferry services may have in alleviating congestion and traffic.
Cars on the roads keep increasing at an alarming rate, however the government has no plans to build a metro and there is so far no plan by the government to address the bottleneck problem. The Nationalist Party is so far the only party that has been promising a metro. The Finance Minister is currently taking a cautious at the proposals being floated citing financial risks to the mega-project. The Prime Minister has always been ambiguous and evasive on the plans while other Ministers cited the challenges of a large project.
Meanwhile, as the government fails to a concrete and systematic alternative, businessmen and lobbies are pushing for their “alternative modes of transport” such as an airstrip in Gozo for a micro-plane which will solve nothing other than paying off the businessmen who are promoting it.
The Labour government is also opposing the construction of a bridge to Gozo but the Gozitan business lobby is in favour.
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