Anyone living or working in Pietà can now take advantage of a new “free-on-demand” transport service after Transport Minister Ian Borg, Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government Silvio Parnis and members of the Pietà local council rolled out the sustainable service today.

“I am pleased to see that this council chose to use an electric van for the service, a step which not only continues to promote alternative means and collective transport, but also contributes to the improvement of air quality in this locality”, said Dr Ian Borg.

“It is very satisfactory for me to witness another local council implementing a permanent measure towards more sustainability in the transport sector, improved air quality in our localities, a more sustainable culture with regard to transport and, after all, towards the benefit of the community,” he continued.

The announcement comes after the Pietà council won a competition held by Transport Malta for permanent measures towards sustainable transport as part of European Mobility Week 2018, obtaining €51,500 towards the implementation of this proposal.

It is hoped that the service will incentivise the people to leave behind their private vehicle

While explaining how the Pietà service would work, Minister Borg commended the local council for the hard work it puts into its locality. He made reference to the chapel opposite where the activity was held, which along with its surroundings were regenerated through funds from the Development Planning Fund.

“Local councils are important for us to continue delivering more and more benefits to Maltese and Gozitan people. I am pleased to witness active local councils and I am satisfied that as a government we are helping local councils to implement such important projects. From my end, I once again encourage councils to come forward with projects that make a difference in the lives of people, while I encourage residents to make use of the services which local councils offer them. If we work together, it will benefit every citizen and resident in the country. Our aim is to always continue raising the standard of living of our communities”, concluded the Minister Borg.

Silvio Parnis congratulated the Pietà Local Council for offering the sustainable service

Parnis reiterated that this continues to show that today, local councils are increasingly offering services to their citizens and this means that they understand their roles as the authority which is closest to citizens.

The Parliamentary Secretary added that this service will also provide an environmental advantage and at the same time, it will continue increasing inclusion for the elderly and for persons with disability. Parnis concluded by stating that there is a need for more local councils to offer such services in their localities and that they can do so by taking part in campaigns such as the European Mobility Week.

The service will be operating on a trial basis and will be fully available in April of this year.

It will operate from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. During the first three hours of the morning, from 6:00 am to 9:00 am, the service will be used to transport users from their homes to their place of work or University and back home during the last three hours, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. During remaining hours, i.e. between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm, the service will be offered on demand.

Those interested can call the Pietà Local Council on 99898022.

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Johnathan Cilia

Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]