It is to my knowledge that the island of its 380 km² is home to a weighty 63,874 cars, and so you can only imagine the hassle brought be a large percentage of these cars during morning rush hour. Not only does the slow movement of the traffic produce excess greenhouse gasses, through unnecessary fuel burning whilst waiting in traffic jams, but also causes a major inconvenience where time of arrival is concerned. It is now becoming a routine for my bus to arrive much later than customary each morning, leaving myself and many others waiting outside in the freezing cold, the rain not being a stranger to these dismal winter days. Not only do we miss out on the beginning of the academic day due to arriving at school late, caused by the extremely slow and uneventful journey; but a cold brought by the bitterly cold wait earlier that morning then causes further absence – hindering us from achieving our desired targets. All because of a late bus caused by the recipe for road rage that is our island congestion.
If something isn’t done to relieve the island of this ever-growing traffic crunch, the matter will only become worse until it is eventually out of hand. One possible suggestion would be to lower the bus fares; based around the fact that 8 out of 10 students already travel by bus to school. By lowering the fare more students would be encouraged to travel by bus; and, hence reduce the amount of cars on the road. Bus passes enabling students to travel cheaper than regular fares have already been distributed, however traveling by bus twice a day five days of the week may still be found costly by some, despite the passes. Not only would this help solve the problem of congestion, but would also provide an easier life-style for parents currently choosing to rush alongside their children each morning, then endure the journey and become late for work themselves.
It would seem bus profits would decrease by taking such an action, however, by doing so more students would choose to travel by bus, and so as well as maintaining and perhaps even increasing a healthy income, a more financially suitable option is being offered to the students. This, of course, would also be a reasonable and effective solution to the problem of traffic build up; as I’m sure any wise man would agree.
Another suggestion would be to introduce the ‘Yellow Bus’ system, which has already been adopted in America. This system replaces the previously used public bus with a school bus reserved for students only, providing them with a secure, reliable journey to and from school every day. If students wish to use this system, a small fee will be paid at the beginning of the year guaranteeing them the service for the rest of the school year. The yellow buses have a specific route designed specially to serve students, allowing them to avoid any unnecessary routes that would cause delay. The buses have allocated seats for students, and so there would be no need for students to stand, or any second trips due to a full bus, again proving convenient for both passenger and environment. It would also be much safer, for all students would be picked up personally and guaranteed a seat, and the safety of the children is a priceless pledge, as I’m sure any parent would agree. The ‘Yellow Bus’ system would most definitely reduce congestion, taking its own routes and deterring students unnecessarily using private vehicles, and it would be financially possible and an easy adaptation. I have myself experienced the system during a stay in Malta, and I must say the knowledge that the bus would arrive for me personally relieved me of any worries of missing the bus each morning, something I’m sure everyone’s been familiar with at one point or another. It’s been working for years in America, why not here?
I’d appreciate it greatly if you’d take into consideration my suggestions for it is essential something is done, and although the problem is out of my control, you have the power to make a difference and benefit our island. It’s simple really, with extremely noticeable results; settling the unnecessarily rushed citizens who would have previously participated in the ‘rush hour’.
Thank you for reading.
Yours sincerely,
Dana Sammut
