ÿþ<HTML><HEAD> <LINK href="../styles/styles.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet"> </HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff" topMargin=0> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=880 border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top rowSpan=1 style="width: 175px"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="170"> <tr> <td width="170" heigth="45"> <SPAN class=headline>Links</SPAN><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="170"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="menulink" width="170"> <a href="http://www.pn.org.mt" target="_blank"> www.pn.org.mt</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="menulink" width="170"> <a href="http://www.maltarightnow.com" target="_blank"> www.maltarightnow.com</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="menulink" width="170"> <a href="http://www.gov.mt" target="_blank">www.gov.mt</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="17" width="170"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="170"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" valign="bottom" width="160"> <img alt="" height="1" src="../images/menu_div.gif" width="120" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="small" height="10" valign="bottom" width="160"> <br /> <strong>Residenza :</strong><br /> <br /> 2, Villa Hallelu Yah <br /> Triq tas-Silg <br /> Marsaxlokk <br /> <br /> <strong>Ufficcji :<br /> </strong> <br /> 52, Triq il-Kbira, Zurrieq <br /> 1, Triq id-Dejqa, Valletta<br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>Mob :</strong> 999 888 77 <br /> <br /> <strong>E-mail : </strong><a href="mailto:f.debono@gmail.com"><span style="color: #0000ff"> f.debono@gmail.com</span></a><br /> <br /> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="height: 10px" valign="bottom" width="160"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td background="../top/orange.gif" heigth="45" valign="bottom" width="160"> <img src="../images/a.gif" style="width: 40px; height: 35px" /></td> </tr> </table> </TD> <TD width=10 rowSpan=1> &nbsp;<img name="" src="../images/blank.gif" style="width: 50px" /> </TD> <TD vAlign=top bgcolor=white> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" > <tr> <TD colspan="4" class=programnews vAlign=top bgColor=#ffffff style="height: 18px"> </TD> </tr> <tr bgColor=#e5e5e5 style="font-size: 12pt"> <td width=10 style="height: 50px"> </td> <td style="height: 50px"> <SPAN class=headline><span style="color: #000000"> SUSTAINABLE PUBLIC TRANSPORT&nbsp;<br /> </SPAN> <SPAN class=small>Franco Debono :. Awwissu 09 &nbsp;</span>&nbsp;</SPAN> </td> <td width=10 style="height: 50px"> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#eeeeee"> <td width="10" colspan="4"> <img id="IMG1" src="bus.jpg" /></td> </tr> <tr bgColor=#eeeeee> <td width=10> <img name="" src="../images/blank.gif" style="width: 25px" /></td> <td class=small> <P style="text-align: justify"> <br /> <strong>While the public transport stand-off was brewing in Malta I had the opportunity to attend the meeting of representatives of sustainable development committees of EU countries' national parliaments that discussed sustainable transport. <br /> <br /> </strong>The building of the National Assembly in Paris was the setting for a meeting out of which I came even more convinced that, for many reasons, we Maltese need to move from private to public transport, but that, for this to happen, public transport in Malta has to go through a radical overhaul. <br /> <br /> On a world and regional level, transport is a huge contributor to climate change and it is thus imperative to tackle the issue immediately. <br /> <br /> From a European point of view, the meeting recognised that sustainable transport needs a trans-national solution but that this must not remain a "European" issue and has to be carried out on two levels, both European and national. <br /> <br /> On a European level, it is essential to move away from roads as the main mode of transport to alternative methods, principally rail and sea. In neighbouring Italy, for example, they're stressing the use of inland port-ways and reforming their port laws. It was emphasised, however, that the various modes of transport should complement rather than compete with each other for sustainability to be attained.<br /> <br /> On a national level, sea as a means of transport is not only limited to Malta-Gozo crossings but the potential for sea transport within Grand Harbour and Marsamxett harbour should be further exploited and enhanced. While rail is for us only a memory of a bygone era, the suggestion to have an underground system could be considered and tram could also be an alternative mode of public transport that can ease the problem of congested roads. <br /> <br /> Nevertheless, our main public transport system is still by bus and we have to think outside the box if we are to be able to persuade a large swathe of our population to use public transport most of the time. <br /> <br /> A shift to public transport means huge advantages, well explained during the meeting in Paris, both theoretically and practically. Public transport in Paris is fast, efficient and rather cheap. <br /> <br /> Such a shift will reduce carbon emissions, which we, as a nation, are obliged to do, both legally and, more importantly, morally. It will reduce road congestion, which is increasingly becoming an issue as we cannot really build huge roads, even though we can rationalise what we already have. <br /> <br /> Less congested roads are also essential for safety, reducing potential hazards and accidents and increasing mobility for clean means of private transport, particularly bicycles. <br /> <br /> It will reduce our dependence on fuel imports, which means tens of millions of euros seeping out of our economy every year and out of our individual pockets every time we fill up. Using less fuel is even better than shifting to bio-fuels that are beginning to look of doubtful environmental-end economic value due to their competition for land with food crops. <br /> <br /> The same applies for cars that are all imported and which also mean a leakage of tens of millions of euros from the economy every year. Thus, a shift to public transport can mean savings of hundreds of euros a year for many families and a remarkable environmental achievement. <br /> <br /> However, the Paris meeting emphasised that, while a shift to public transport has all these advantages, it requires organisation and modernisation as it is fundamental that public transport is perceived by citizens as a credible and reliable alternative. <br /> <br /> Back in Malta, with public transport in the throes of argument and actions, I could not help thinking how far we are from the ideals discussed in Paris. <br /> <br /> Yet, with the denouement of the public transport actions and acceptance of liberalisation, this is a time of great opportunity for us as a nation to start afresh and devise a public transport system that can secure huge advantages for us as individuals, families and collectively as a country. <br /> <br /> <br /> </P> </td> <td width=10> <img name="" src="../images/blank.gif" style="width: 25px" /></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#eeeeee"> <td width="10"> </td> <td class="small"> </td> <td width="10"> </td> </tr> </table> </TD> <td align="center" valign="top" width="10"> <IMG height=8 src="../images/a.gif" width=10></td> </TR> </TBODY> </TABLE> </BODY> </HTML>