Transport Malta officials will once again join those from LESA and the Police force to help in managing traffic that will result from the start of the scholastic year, Transport Minister Ian Borg told The Malta Independent.

The start of the scholastic year is only a week away, and with it there is expected to be a period of heightened activity on Malta’s roads. Asked whether the government was expecting an influx in traffic as of next week due to this, Borg said that while it is unfair to blame schools, teachers, students for traffic on the basis that they need to go to school, it is indeed a more challenging period in terms of traffic management.

He noted various initiatives that the government had implemented which will help the situation, mentioning the government’s offering of free transport to church, independent, and state schools, along with the initiative to make public transport free for those between 14 and 20 years old. He added that the current infrastructural projects which are seeking to remove as many bottlenecks as possible from Malta’s roads will also no doubt help the situation.

Borg said that Transport Malta officials will once again join up with those from LESA and the Police Force to help with managing traffic, and said that while he could not give an exact number of officials who will be deployed, they would be working in the early hours of the morning and the afternoon rush hour to make sure that things worked out as smoothly as possible. 

He also said that a number of meetings have already taken place between the three entities to ensure coordination in this period.

Borg noted that aside from all these measures there is a question of collective responsibility as well that needs to be taken into consideration, in that everyone must try and take advantage of the incentives that the government is offering so to contribute to solving the problem themselves.