Editorial | How to solve traffic congestion according to the TM boss

Transport Malta Chief Executive Oficer Jonathan Borg issued an appeal, urging car owners to consider using the roads during less congested hours when possible as a solution to traffic congestion.

“I want to make a genuine appeal – cooperate with traffic officials, in the early hours of the day, be more cautious, and when possible, use the roads later on in the day,” Borg said in a message uploaded to the transport authority's Facebook page.

The message coincides with students returning to school after the summer recess, a time which is synonymous with gridlocks and traffic congestion. The appeal - though surely genuine - is short-sighted and realistically a reflection of how detached the authorities are from the realities of everyday life.

We have addressed traffic problems by building more roads, more flyovers and more junctions. No one has yet talked of addressing the cause of the traffic chaos. As we all know and probably agree, traffic chaos leads to inefficiencies and increased business costs.

The Transport Malta chief said he was aware of the congestion issues facing Maltese roads and said: “Our dedication to finding solutions remains unwavering, and in the forthcoming weeks, we will be seeking your input to find solutions together and expedite progress.”    He said this as more than 28,700 state school students returned to school together with 5,942 school children who will attend school next week.

But Borg’s appeal is a half-hearted solution to a problem which shows to what extent the  hard decisions are never taken. It also shows that he is detached from the realties of how businesses work or institutions function: from services that open at 8am, schools and hospitals that offer a public serrvice, and the plethora of retail outlets that offer a service to customers with cycles linked to age-old recurrent time-tables.

The first solution would surely be a proposal to restrict the use of heavy vehicles and logistical transport from operating between 7.30am and 9am. These vehicles hinder the flow of traffic.

The second solution is to coordinate road works, building construction and excavation.  Surely the anarchy that exists with departments and agencies not knowing who is doing what can be addressed by some central authority. We are a circus when it comes to the issuance of permits.

These proposals would address to a certain extent the grid locks, but government does not have the proverbial balls to act on this.

The other solution is to inject more energy and money into public transport by using smaller commuter buses to increase efficiency.  Not by making it free but rather by making it more efficient.

The idea of throwing money at problems is not the only way of solving problems.

What we need are courageous decisions... ones that politicians are reluctant to take because they are short-sighted and bad managers.