Source: Newsbook Malta

Newsbook Malta interviews Dr Suzanne Maas from Friends of the Earth Malta about Malta’s traffic problems, e-scooter ban, and the actions needed to solve its transport issues.

Malta and its role in reducing EU transport emissions

Last year before the COP28 summit, it was reported that Malta had registered the largest percentage increase in EU greenhouse gas emissions. Since the European Commission described Malta’s climate action progress as “largely insufficient”, questions have been raised on how the Maltese government intends to achieve its green mobility and carbon emission reduction targets.

E-scooters: “The latest casualty” of shared mobility in Malta

Dr. Maes discussed the upcoming ban on rental e-scooters in the country, which will be enforced from March 1st, 2024, describing them as the “latest casualty” of shared mobility, with lack of available parking space on narrow streets being a frequent concern for Maltese residents. Through the years Friends of the Earth Malta and Rota campaigned to improve e-scooter issues, by proposing designated parking spaces on each street for scooters, protected lanes, traffic calmed zones and a more inclusive transport network for multimodal travel.

Improvement in transport infrastructure needed to reach EU climate action targets

With only 52% of the Maltese population having a driving license, Dr. Maes argues that investing in infrastructure for private cars only meets the needs of half of the population and suggests that more needs to be done to improve mobility for everyone. She emphasizes that solving Malta’s transport issues doesn’t need to be big infrastructural projects, but needs the configuration of its existing infrastructure to be changed. The article mentions positive transport infrastructure examples in Europe, such as Brussels in Belgium, which is a very car dependent city but has recently enjoyed impressive results from an active mobility initiative. Read the full article here about the issues regarding mobility in Malta.