Over 32,000,000 trips using tallinja cards in 1st year

On the first anniversary since the launch of the tallinja card on 1 July 2015, Malta Public Transport announces with pleasure that 240,000 individuals now have a tallinja card. “During the first year, we have registered over 32 million trips made by passengers using tallinja cards,” explained Daniel Grech, Commercial Director at Malta Public Transport.

Malta Public Transport understands that the passengers were instrumental in making the tallinja card a success. The company has identified the most frequent travelers in each tallinja card category: Adult, Student, Child, Concession and Gozo. In order to thank them for their loyalty, these five customers have been given the opportunity to travel by bus for free for a whole year up to 30 June 2017.

The tallinja card offers an easier way to travel, as passengers no longer have to prepare loose change to pay for their bus ticket since they can simply validate their tallinja card when boarding the bus. One of the major impacts of the tallinja card on local public transport has undoubtedly been the reduced journey times due to time saved when boarding the bus.

Customers using the tallinja card automatically benefit from a daily, weekly or monthly capping, meaning that customers do not spend more than a specific amount irrespective of the number of journeys made. There are currently over 12,000 tallinja card customers who reach their monthly capping, including a few who managed to make over 3,500 trips in a year thus saving over €2,000 during the year compared to paying in cash.

Following the introduction of the tallinja card, Malta Public Transport is now also in a position to study general travel patterns. Some interesting facts observed in this data collected through tallinja cards include the busiest day during the past year, which was 30 October 2015, with over 100,000 trips being made on the day with a tallinja card. The busiest bus stops, excluding the Valletta Bus Terminus, are “Kullegg” in Msida, “Bombi” in Floriana, “Sptar” and “L-Imsida” in Msida and “Paola” in Paola.

The tallinja card appears to be very popular with people over 60, with 75% of people in that demographic holding a tallinja card. Public transport is essential in providing mobility to people who wish to travel independently. These figures show that the elderly are increasingly more mobile and the tallinja card is making it easier for them to travel and remain active within society.

Throughout this past year, Malta Public Transport has made a number of investments aimed at improving the customer experience. 179 new buses have been introduced in service, making the bus fleet in Malta one of the youngest and most environmentally-friendly ones in Europe. The tallinja app, launched in April, gives customers real time bus information and can help them plan your time better when using the public transport service.

Malta Public Transport continues to invest in people, through providing better working conditions. The company has also continued to recruit and train more bus drivers and customer care personnel to ensure that it continues to offer the best possible service. The number of journeys has increased to more than 5,500 daily.