Transport Reform or Transport Parole?

There is no denying that many of the buses that ply our roads need to be hauled over. The black clouds of belching smoke, the bone shaking ride and a piece of string to pull, to signal the driver that you have reached your destination, may have been state-of-the-art fifty years ago, but they are not even cute today.

The buses have also long enjoyed a monopoly on our roads. There simply was no other option, apart from walking that is, if you wanted to get to your destination.

Now, despite this monopoly, it has to be said that fares have been kept at a reasonable level. Compared to other locations around Europe, we still have low bus fares – but then our wages are not exactly topping any charts either.

However, the financial package being offered to bus drivers has raised a few eyebrows and rightly so. The package consists of €50 million in compensation and job guarantees for ten years.
I have worked different jobs since I was 14 years old, and went to school for almost half my life. And in all that time I never had a job guaranteed for ten hours – let alone ten years. But evidently that was my fault for choosing the wrong career.

The Chamber of Commerce has expressed its disbelief at these terms – and rightly so. The modern business world is a highly competitive and volatile one. Such a package would be completely unheard of anywhere else in the world – but in Malta this is actually our second one.

While businessmen struggle to remain competitive, while they fight rising costs and slimmer profit margins, public workers seem to receive golden handshakes for doing what is essentially a not so great job.
Now I don’t want to tar all drivers with the same brush, as many of them are hard-working folks who genuinely try to give a good service. But, as one of the tendering transport companies admitted in a recent interview with the Times of Malta, there are some bad apples out there.

Why is it that our country seems to constantly reward those who perform poorly at their work? Have we suddenly become inspired by the world banking community who seem to pride themselves on giving themselves gigantic bonuses for screwing up the world economy? Maybe it’s a new trend for the forthcoming decade…

Now in all this mess I can see the government’s point. They have a thorny issue and they are probably happy to pay to get off their hands. In the long run, it actually saves money, as well as passing along a PR nightmare. Looking at it from this perspective, the government is probably popping champagne corks and slapping each other on the back for finally solving a difficult situation using a little money.

Except that…well they are using my money to pay them off. And yours too for that matter. Because when the government spends money, that money comes from the taxes which we pay – well those of us working types who actually do pay them. Bu even though we’ve paid for the golden handshake, we’re not going to get any free rides as a ‘thank you’.

Still, if it results in shiny new buses that don’t choke you with fumes, well mannered drivers who don’t growl at you as you board the bus and a reliable service that won’t leave you stranded because the last bus just drove past and didn’t bother to stop, then I’d say we got a bargain.