CTPG News Summer 2002

stock. From the operators viewpoint, the average 18c(30p
sterHng) paid per journey is barely enough to feed and
cloth their family and so it is inconceivable that the average
single-vehicle owner could ever repay a loan for a new bus
unless a substantial grant were awarded.
Numerous plans for new or second-hand fleet renewal have
been put into practice since the 1950's but the long term
effectiveness of the strategies must be measured against the
fact that numerous vehicles from the 1960's back as far as
the 1930's remain in daily service. Indeed the modem day
fleet includes around 30 AEC Swifts of the L.T.E. SM/SMS
class all of which are all now over 30 years old. The most
recent round of new-vehicle discussion have been ongoing
for the past decade during which a range of demonstrators
with manual transmission were liu*ed to the Island in the
false hope of large orders for the manufacturers. The result
of the trials was that 140 vehicle owners decided to sign-up
"in principle" to buy a new bus subject to a grant of £20,000
Maltese being paid by the govemment-however no actual
orders were ever placed. The average owner does not
believe it necessary to buy a new bus but is scared that
if they do not co-operate, then the government may decide
to nationalise the fleet and so may put them out of a job.
Having reached agreement over grant-aid the government
had the opportunity to insist on 140 new vehicles being
ordered immediately but then lost its chance by changing
the goalposts. The PubUc Transport Authority insisted that
all new vehicles were to conform to low-floor specification
but the owners reaUsed that this effectively added another
f 12,OO0Maltese(£20,00O sterling) onto the purchase price
and so began a new round of negotiations, eventually leading
to the agreement of a £32,000Maltese (£54,000 steriing)
grant toward a new bus. The Chinese option became
attractive as a reult of the £45,000Maltese price tag(ie just
£13,000 Maltese(£22,000 sterhng) needed to be paid by the