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Watch: Cyclist Shows How Easy It Is To Sift Through Standstill Back-To-School Traffic In Malta

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Local cyclist and NGO Rota president Daniel Vella has illustrated how easy it is to sift through traffic and make it home to Attard from the University of Malta within minutes while riding a pedelec.

Vella shared the footage of his journey home with Lovin Malta – a timelapse video of him sifting through standstill back-to-school traffic on one of Malta’s busiest roads. 

“Most people will be stuck in traffic this week, so I will be sharing some of my pedelec trips. It’s honestly one of the best ways to travel in Malta especially if you live within 7km of your destinations,” Vella wrote on social media.

A pedelec is a bicycle with an electric motor powered by a rechargeable battery, which provides assistance to flatten out hills and use less energy.

“Today’s commute was just 16 minutes for a 6.2km trip, including parking,” he said, while others have reported that it took them more than an hour to get from university to Mosta.

 

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“From my house to university, it took me a total of 15 minutes, and coming back home it took me 16 minutes, using my pedelec,” he told Lovin Malta.

Vella explained how his experience with a pedelec is very different compared to when he used to drive to University on a daily basis. 

“I didn’t always use my bike. When I turned 18 and enrolled in Malta’s university, the first thing I did was get my car license, and I used to drive to the university,” he explained.

“I used to waste a lot of time, going around the ring road to find parking, wasting fuel, wasting money, and wasting time, which would result in a lot of stress and frustration.”

He also detailed how there were times when he used to have no choice but to park in Swatar, with the walk to the university taking around 15 minutes – which is the time it takes to arrive by bicycle. 

“A few years later, I bought a pedelec because I was tired of wasting time, and when I started using it, I regretted not using it earlier,” he said.

“It makes sense for Malta, especially for distances which are around five to six kilometres. And from then onwards I always used my bicycle to get to the University.”

Going even further back, Vella also spoke about his experience at Junior College, and how much time it used to take him to use Malta’s public transport.

“It would have been much easier and less time-consuming if I used a bike to commute to the school,” he said.

Rota is an NGO that advocates for safe cycling in Malta. Most of this NGO’s work is focused on raising awareness on bicycle commuting, micro-mobility and harnessing the excessive use of cars particularly in a small country like Malta where distances are short and can be traversed quite easily also by using other forms of mobility.

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Sasha is a writer, creator, and podcast host interested in environmental matters, humans, and art. Some know her as Sasha tas-Sigar. Inspired by nature and the changing world. Follow her on Instagram at @saaxhaa and send her your stories at [email protected]

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