Das Problem
Keine Regierung war in Malta in der Lage, eine groß angelegte Verkehrsinfrastruktur einzurichten. Die Gründe sind bekannt: Unsere wichtigsten städtischen Gebiete zeichnen sich durch enge Korridore, historische Stätten und eine dichte Bevölkerung aus. Bei jedem größeren Bauprojekt besteht die Gefahr, dass der Verkehr jahrelang lahmgelegt wird. Die Überlastung ist bereits am Rande der Belastungsgrenze, und weitere Störungen könnten die Menschen im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes in ihren Häusern festhalten.
Traditionelle Lösungen passen nicht zu Malta.
- Eine U-Bahn ist praktisch unmöglich. Bei Ausgrabungen würden wahrscheinlich archäologische Stätten und Artefakte freigelegt, wodurch aus einem 10-jährigen Projekt ein 50-jähriges Projekt würde. Es würde unser Erbe weiter zerstören.
- Straßenbahnen sind zwar billiger und schneller zu bauen, benötigen aber Straßenraum, den Malta einfach nicht hat. Ein einziger Ausfall kann eine ganze Linie zum Stillstand bringen, bis sie einen Servicebereich oder ein Depot erreicht, wodurch zusätzlich wertvolle Fläche verschwendet wird.
- Überall hängende Schienen werden die Insel ruinieren und in späteren Jahren zu einem weißen Elefanten werden.
Malta braucht einen anderen Ansatz. Eines, das innerhalb seiner physischen und kulturellen Grenzen funktioniert. Andere Städte haben dies bereits getan: Vor über einem Jahrhundert baute Wuppertal in Deutschland seine Schwebebahn, um Platzbeschränkungen aufgrund von Bergen und Hügeln zu überwinden. Malta muss eine eigene, ebenso einfallsreiche, aber realistische Lösung finden.
Sofortmaßnahmen
1. Gehen Sie auf Motorrädern aufs Ganze
- Fördern Sie eine groß angelegte Umstellung auf Motorräder und Motorroller als primäres städtisches Verkehrsmittel.
- Entfernen Sie die Steuern für Fahrräder mit weniger als 300 ccm oder Elektrofahrrädern
- Erstellen Sie spezielle Motorradspuren in wichtigen Korridoren.
- Bieten Sie Anreize wie Rabatte auf Kraftstoff oder Reparaturen oder bis zu 1.000 £ Rabatt beim Kauf von Fahrrädern.
- Noch besser ist es, einen Deal mit China abzuschließen, um Gogoro zu bekommen https://www.gogoro.com/ auf Malta
- Gewähren Sie Motorrädern bei Staus Vorrang auf der Straße.
- Unterstützen Sie Motorradtaxidienste mit speziellen Apps und regulierten Abholpunkten. Ein Modell, das vielen Fahrern und Mitfahrern mit Migrationshintergrund bereits bekannt ist.
- Ermutigen Sie die Beamten und die Polizei von Transport Malta, regelmäßig Motorräder zu nutzen, um den Wandel zu fördern.
2. Fährdienste erweitern und liberalisieren
- Die Fähre von Sliema nach Valletta beweist, wie effizient der Wassertransport sein kann. Es ist auch eine schöne und entspannende Reise und supergünstig. Es ist nicht gut beworben oder vernetzt und könnte stark verbessert werden.
- Bauen Sie mehrere Pontons rund um die Insel und integrieren Sie sie in bestehende Buslinien.
- Ermöglichen Sie lizenzierten privaten Bootsbesitzern den Betrieb von Punkt-zu-Punkt-Passagierdiensten zwischen diesen Drehkreuzen.
- Dadurch entsteht eine flexible "Wasserbus" Netzwerk mit minimalen Infrastrukturkosten und wird darauf abzielen, später die Überlastung der Infrastruktur des Mittleren Rings zu reduzieren.
3. Minibusse neu einsetzen
- Nutzen Sie die vorhandene Schul-Minibusflotte außerhalb der Hauptverkehrszeiten, um auf Abruf Mikrotransporte über die Insel anzubieten.
- Diese kleineren Fahrzeuge können Gebiete erreichen, in denen große Busse und Straßenbahnen nicht verkehren können.
4. Führen Sie Smart Road Pricing ein
- Führen Sie auf allen wichtigen Ausfallstraßen eine Mautgebühr mit automatischer Kennzeichenerkennung (LPR) ein.
- Fahrgemeinschaften und Fahrzeuge zur Personenbeförderung sind gebührenfrei.
- In verkehrsarmen Zeiten sinken die Mautgebühren auf Null und in Spitzenzeiten oder Zeiten mit ungewöhnlich hohem Verkehrsaufkommen werden sie erhöht, damit nur diejenigen ihre Häuser verlassen, die die Straße benutzen müssen.
- Die Einnahmen aus diesem System finanzieren direkt die nächsten Schritte der Verkehrswende.
5. Arbeitsmuster umgestalten
- Veranstalten Sie einen nationalen Mobilitätsgipfel mit großen Arbeitgebern.
- Erzwingen oder fördern Sie hybrides Arbeiten, Remote-Optionen oder gestaffelte Startzeiten, um den Verkehr zu Spitzenzeiten zu verteilen. Dies kann mit Steuererleichterungen einhergehen.
- "Hauptverkehrszeit" muss werden "mäßiger Verkehr morgens/abends".
6. Beheben Sie das Transportproblem im Nachtleben
- Verdoppeln Sie Ihre Aufmerksamkeit beim Fahren unter Alkoholeinfluss
- Machen Sie den Weg nach Hause günstig und zugänglich, ohne sich ausschließlich auf Autotaxis verlassen zu müssen. Es muss erschwinglich und allgegenwärtig sein.
- Jeglicher Betrug, räuberisches Verhalten, überhöhte Preise oder alles, was die öffentliche Wahrnehmung beeinträchtigt, muss sofort behandelt werden. Kein Warten auf das Gericht, die Polizei belastet den Anbieter, Sie schreiben Ihre Zeugenaussage, fertig.
Zukunftsvision
1. Einheitliche Transportplattform
- Entwickeln Sie eine einzige App oder ein Zahlungsgateway, das alle öffentlichen und privaten Transportmöglichkeiten wie Fähren, Busse, Kleinbusse, Straßenbahnen (zukünftig) und Motorradtaxis verbindet.
- Die Regierung fungiert als neutraler Vermittler, der Zahlungen und Daten verwaltet und gleichzeitig privaten Betreibern Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Innovation ermöglicht.
2. Erweiterung des Fährnetzes
Vollständige Abdeckung von:
- St. Julian’s – Sliema – Valletta – Drei Städte – Marsaskala – Marsaxlokk
- Bugibba – St. Paul’s Bay – Mellieha – Cirkewwa (Norden)
3. Wichtige Austauschknotenpunkte
Errichten Sie wichtige Verkehrsknotenpunkte in Sliema, Mosta und Valletta, wo mehrere Verkehrsträger durch Fähren, Straßenbahnen (zukünftig), Busse, Kleinbusse und Mikromobilität zusammenlaufen.
4. Multi-Ring-Mobilitätssystem
Erstellen Sie ein Drei-Ring-Transportmodell:
- Äußerer Ring: Fähren verbinden Küstenstädte.
- Mittlerer Ring: Busse und zukünftige Offroad-Stadtbahnen oder Schwebebahnen.
- Innerer Ring: Busse, Kleinbusse und Motorräder sorgen für die lokale Mobilität.
Für die künftige Entwicklung von Stadtbahn- oder Hängestraßenbahnsystemen sollten jetzt breite Verkehrskorridore identifiziert werden. Jeder Hub würde private und öffentliche Betreiber umfassen: Taxis, Motorräder, Kleinbusse und Busse. Wenn kein Bus vorhanden ist, müssen Hunderte von Motorrädern und Minivans abgegeben werden.
Abschluss
Malta kann die Verkehrssysteme anderer Länder nicht kopieren. Es muss ein Gebäude entstehen, das seiner einzigartigen Geografie, seinem Erbe und seiner Dichte gerecht wird. Durch die Kombination intelligenter Anreize, leichterer Mobilitätsarten und strategischer Planung kann Malta Staus schnell entlasten und gleichzeitig den Grundstein für ein flexibles, modernes und integriertes Netzwerk in den kommenden Jahren legen.
Malta’s Transport Crisis: A pragmatic way forward
byu/AdolphusPerfidus inmalta
Von AdolphusPerfidus
15 Kommentare
I would also consider a kei car program to shrink fleet size. This could take the form of incentives on small car purrchase to promoting local design challenges
What about cycle lanes? More people would cycle if it wasn’t so dangerous on the roads
Well done for not criticising only but trying to offer solutions
There is more…..
Make on street parking payable
High fuel prices
Remove scrap cars from the roads with a more stringent VRT (the present one is a joke)
End the 30 years vintage scheme
Limit Bolt taxi (by half)
Tax heavily SUVs and huge cars and incentivize small car use
Higher tax on cars that are not electric
More work from home (Like covid times)
The only way is underground. It will be expensive and will take time to get an underground system covering the whole island. Still, one needs to start. There will be issues for sure but one will eventually tackle them as these crop up. Secondly, one should limit the flow of heavy vehicles during rush hours. Trailers, mixers, trucks shouldn’t be allowed on the roads from 6:30am till 9am and from 4pm till 6pm. Either they plan their trips earlier or later…construction industry/importers can’t just have the cake and eat it. They have to pay their price. Third thing and the most important one, we should simply limit the number of people living here. Living here has become unbearable not just for the traffic but for everything else as well. Don’t tell me go somewhere else…I don’t want.
I think the first step they need to do is to regulate the number of cars. Singapore had the same problem many years ago until they found a way to regulate the number of cars and force almost everyone to use public transport. in the beginning it was hard, people complained a lot, buses were crowded but once it has stabilized after a couple of years, the number of buses went up, the number of cars significantly went down, the streets naturally got cleared up from parked vehicles, which made literally the side walks better and since there are now more buses than cars, there are more civilized drivers on the street. They implemented huge penalties on cars who have accidents. First of all they lose their license which was so expensive, and secondly they pay a hefty fine with imprisonment depending on the gravuty. So drivers became more cautious and disciplined.
It is possible for Malta to become like Singapore. But it has to be a concerted effort by both the governement and the people. otherwise it will just fall into this loop where others will comply, and the more powerful ones dont bother.
>Underground rail is practically impossible. Excavation would likely uncover archaeological sites and artefacts, turning a 10-year project into a 50-year one. It would further destroy our heritage.
I would disagree with this. It’s not likely at all. Metro stations would be in a limited number of locations – probably central/urban, and therefore probably replacing an existing structure (the foundations of which will have already uncovered any archeological sites (if any). The rest of the infrastructure is far deeper underground than any architectural site is likely to be, leaving them undisturbed.
It’s not like 90% of the island is prehistoric dwellings just 3-4 metres underground. The *occasional* new development uncovers something of interest, but this is rare and bad luck.
>Go All-In on Motorbikes
* Not a viable option for the elderly, people with young children, people going for family shopping, or any family trips in general.
* Dedicated motorbike lanes – these already exist (though I think they were intended as bicycle lanes). Scooters seem still to prefer winding between cars than use them for some reason…
* What is „road priority during congestion“?
>Expand and Liberalise Ferry Services
* Sliema to Valetta has the advantage of being a short cut instead of a long round-about and congested route. Not all routes would be like this.
* Sliema to Valetta is A-to-B. For the ferry to be an effective choice of public transportation it needs to go from A-to-B-to-C-to-D-to-E-to-F. With docking being the slowest part of a journey, that’s going to take hours. Fine for tourists, useless for commuters.
* Obviously, not everyone lives close to the sea. Considering there would be relatively few ferry ports, walking will not be an option for most people. Expecting people to drive to a port (usually in a dense urban area since the intention is to serve as public transportation for exactly those areas) results in exactly the same traffic as before, just shifted.
>Introduce Smart Road Pricing
* This just dumps the costs onto the poorest people – usually the ones who don’t have the option to work from home because they work in shops, hospitality, labourers, etc.
* These people don’t have option to stay at home if somewhere along their route becomes congested.
* Other people would just have costs covered by their employer, making it an ineffective measure. Basically a tax on drivers used to pay for the system which applies the tax on driver.
>Reshape Work Patterns
* Naive to expect this could work or that employers would agree to such a plan or how to distribute work patterns.
* There is already an incentive for employers to allow people to work from home as there are huge potential savings just in the size of offices which they would need to maintain – and yet they are increasingly requiring people to come into the office and scale back wfh and hybrid options.
* While some people enjoyed working from home, others hated it – especially if their living situation wasn’t suitable for working. Also, staggered hours could be problematic for people with children (children spending less time both parents if their work patterns differed, though to be fair this could be beneficial with regards to drop-off/pick-up from school and childcare)
>Tackle Nightlife transport issue
* Traffic isn’t really a problem at night.
* Two words: „vomit bus“.
* Extra-judicial justice. What could go wrong?
Monorail/suspension rail is a terrible idea.
They are extremely difficult to maintain and prohibitevly expensive.[monorail is a terrible idea](https://youtu.be/9f__nhlHC1g?si=p5n03JogDsM2uf8O)
I think you make a valid point about an underground system though.
A proper subway system is possible, through land acquisition and proper city level, big project planning in parallel like a lot of cities do when they undertake pedestrianization.
Our PAs corruption causes problems withy that.
Usually for a revitalization project cities zone out a neighborhood and buy it out in bulk, get the construction done at one go instead of ad hoc constant construction.
>Unified Transport Platform
* The public side of this already exists: Tallinja. People may say the app is shit, but it exists, and the contactless card already works on most (all?) public transportation. It’s not rocket science to expand this to private transport providers.
>Ferry Network Expansion
* Not sure why you would list them are two separate routes. The majority of commuters in the North are travelling to work in the centre or the East – for ferries to be effective they need to go all the way – not have a big gap between Bugibba and St. Julians.
>Key Interchange Hubs
* This kinda already exists. In Sliema definitely. In Valetta it’s not really practical to have the buses in a hub down next to the ferries (and obviously you can’t bring the ferries up to the buses). Other cities do need hubs though – many of the larger towns don’t even have a proper bus station…
>Multi-Ring Mobility System
* Eh… I mean, that’s kinda logical, isn’t it. Whichever transport is most suitable for the area. It’s actually confusing referring to it as a ring because it’s not ring-shaped. There’s a dense urban belt along the East coast (and to a lesser degree along the North coast), same with sea belt, and several main belts along the main corridors through the island,
I disagree that suspension rail should so be quickly be dismissed; design it well and it won’t blight the island. And why would it turn into a white elephant? Suspended above traffic, it can be automated and transport mass numbers with ease.
Encouraging use of two wheel options, although optimistic, is grossly unrealistic and unsuitable for families and anyone over a certain age.
>Conclusion
>Malta cannot copy other countries’ transport systems. It must build one that works for its unique geography, heritage, and density. By combining smart incentives, lighter modes of mobility, and strategic planning, Malta can relieve congestion quickly, while laying the groundwork for a flexible, modern, and integrated network in the years ahead.
I have to be frank, quirky novelty projects are not going have much of an impact, if any.
I don’t understand the stubborn refusal to push for the most obvious and least disruptive solution, which is a metro. While yes, it’s expensive, it is the only thing which is a suitable alternative to commuting in cars and is the most effective at reducing traffic.
Malta isn’t as different as you seem to think – it’s actually perfectly suited for something like a metro system as the population density is concentrated in long belts along which the routes would run. Arguments that it would hurt Malta’s cultural heritage are facile – nobody has suggested that the cultural heritage of London or Paris or Athens or any other „cultural“ place was harmed by their metro system.
While you have some interesting ideas, they’re more suited for introduction only *after* traffic congestion has been lessened. The idea that introducing scooters or (e)bikes or mini-buses will cause people to abandon using their cars is for the birds – if they can afford cars then they can afford scooters, and yet they don’t. Why? Because it’s dangerous and there’s too much traffic – so they use cars – which is why the roads are so dangerous and full of traffic. It’s a classic Catch-22. Incentives won’t break that cycle. Punishment won’t change that either – it’ll just hurt the poorest people the most and hand the next election to the party which promises to lift the restrictions and you’re right back where you started.
Any solution needs to offer a better alternative for car drivers – and something which will neither incentivise them nor punish them to compel them to change. A metro system does that. When it decreases traffic, it becomes easier for other projects such as the ones you suggest. Less traffic makes it more viable to widen roads to bike lanes, pedestrianise town centres, have better and more reliable bus services etc. In fact, while those infrastructure projects are being developed and roads are temporarily closed because of works, there is an added incentive for people to rely on the metro system, thus further normalising its use and reducing the perceived necessity to have a car (or at least having multiple cars)
The easiest incentive for the government to implement right now is incentives for companies who switch to remote working. It’s proven to work and also it helps with parents who need to be there more for their children. I worked in US company that had an office here but going there was optional. All the employees there had a better work to life balance and also 1+ kids each.
1: this is the most terrifying solution ever. First of all motorbikes are ofter disregarded by car drivers, second because motorbike drivers are nowadays out of control. They think rules don’t apply to them and they think that cars have to stop to let them pass first. This is a good recipe to increase the death rate on the roads
2: as soon as the sea is a little rough, everything will be paralysed. Not a solution to the problem.
3: this can be more interesting if we start thinking differently about bus transport. Maltese roads are often too narrow for buses, so what is the point to have buses doing 10-20 stop within one town? Big buses should stop 1 or 2 times in towns, and only in the main roads of the island. Then a network of small buses can run in parallel only for that specific town. Example related to Rabat: all the buses reach the main bus stop, the one close to the Domus Romana. 1 stop only. You need to go to Rabat from another village? Bus service brings you there. Then, from there there are other 5 lines going back and forth from the bus stop to different corners of the village. If you live near S. Sebastian church, you take the small bus till Rabat bus station, and from there you go to other cities.
4 paying for a struggling, almost non existing road system is extremely stupid. Paying for what?
5 and 6:basically irrelevant to the problem.
Nah, just cut immigration and slash visas. Less people. Less traffic. This problem and so many others solved.