New Valletta Bus launched for Valletta 2018

The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, Ian Borg, has today launched a new bus which will be operated on Route 133 – the Valletta Circular Route. This follows an investment of €120,000 made by Malta Public Transport. The new bus had been put into service just in time for the inauguration of Valletta 2018 - European Capital of Culture. The bus was launched in the presence of Parliamentary Secretary for Consumer Protection and Valletta 2018 Deo Debattista, Valletta Mayor Prof. Alexiei Dingli, Malta Public Transport General Manager Konrad Pulé and Group Transport Division Director Julio Tironi.

The new bus is based on a Mercedes chassis and has been designed for the specific needs of the capital city. The bus can carry 25 passengers. It is a low floor bus and will thus help improve access to the capital city by wheelchair users and other passengers who are mobility impaired. The bus also offers USB charging points next to the seats – passengers can therefore charge their mobile phones for free whilst on the go.

Over the past year, Route 133 has increased in popularity. 60,000 passengers have used this route in 2017 – this is an increase of almost 17,000 passengers over the previous year. This follows the trend seen in these last years as a record number of 48 million passengers used the public transport in 2017 – an increase of more than 12% over 2016.

Besides being popular with tourists who explore the capital city, Route 133 is important to the residents of Valletta, particularly the elderly, as it provides a vital link between the centre of the city, the main residential areas, the ferry landing points, the bus terminus and the polyclinic in Floriana. Furthermore, passengers who are using the ferry from Sliema and Cospicua to Valletta are making use of Route 133 to get to the city centre and the Valletta terminus thus further driving the shift towards public transport.

“This new bus will continue to improve the overall Valletta experience. The Valletta route may be our shortest route, but it connects the four corners of the capital and has served 60,000 people last year. The bus is cleaner, more comfortable, more accessible and has a higher capacity than ever before, and we are confident that this will continue to encourage more and more people to use the bus”, said Konrad Pulé.