Local NGOs express disappointment at authorities on Gozo fast ferry e-bike policy

(Verżjoni bil-Malti isfel)

Transport Malta and the Malta Maritime Authority have yet again postponed an important meeting with civil society organisation representatives from Moviment Graffitti, Rota and Friends of the Earth Malta, intended to address unfair policies hampering e-bike and scooter commuters of the Gozo Fast Ferry. The organisations express grave concern that, yet again, multimodal transport is not prioritised. This despite the growing need to tackle traffic and to meet Malta’s environmental obligations to the public and internationally.

The latest meeting set for Friday at 9am was cancelled that same morning, meaning members of the organisations, some from Gozo, were already on their way or had already arrived at the Transport Malta Offices in Lija. Friday’s date was set after a prior meeting earlier this month was also cancelled at short notice.

The authorities’ brazen attitude towards the issue at hand, and the citizens it supposedly represents, raises questions about the authorities’ priorities. The organisations’ representatives would like to remind the authorities that their salaries are paid by taxpayers, and that the public they serve is their utmost priority and should thus be treated with respect rather than being taken for a ride.

In the spirit of constructive dialogue, the three organisations asked for the meeting after the Gozo fast ferry operator started to enforce rules limiting the carriage of electric bicycles – ranging from an outright ban on e-bikes to requiring them to be left outside in conditions vulnerable to weather and seaspray, and demanding 20 minutes early boarding. All these rules were put in place because of overblown and unevidenced concerns of spontaneous combustion of lithium-ion batteries. 

The organisations, whose representatives are experts in the field of transport and health, were going to emphasise in the meeting that such risks are inherent to all battery types, including those in electric cars, laptops, vapes and mobile phones, and are a rare outcome of battery tampering, use of non-reputable electronics, or malfunction while charging. They found no evidence of any other public transport companies with similarly restrictive policies for e-bikes within Europe. To mitigate any fire risk, turning off e-bike batteries while on board should suffice. The above was further corroborated by Cycling Industries Europe, the trade organisation for the cycling sector in Europe, who confirmed that “e-bikes are subject to very high security and safety standards meaning fire risks are minimal” and additionally, that “practically all recorded battery fires to date happened while the battery was being charged”.

Restrictive policies for electric bicycles contrast with the government’s significant financial incentives to encourage citizens to shift from cars to electric bicycles, particularly for residents of Gozo. Pairing an electric bicycle with a fast ferry link between Gozo and Valletta is an efficient alternative to car travel between the two islands, alleviating traffic congestion and air pollution. However, the ever-changing policies of the Gozo fast ferry operator towards e-bikes  make it harder to achieve the objectives of electrifying transport and reducing reliance on cars. The policies inaccurately portray e-bikes as hazardous devices, while causing inconvenience to the public. The lack of notice, whimsical enforcement and botched implementation of these policies all serve to dampen the uptake of e-bikes by commuters.

The Gozo fast ferry service – a much-needed fast connection between Malta and Gozo for commuters, residents and visitors – is heavily subsidised by taxpayers. Service to citizens should be the first priority. The organisations are therefore publicly urging the transport authorities and Gozo fast ferry operators to revisit their e-bike policies to ensure a more inclusive, efficient, and sustainable transport system, respecting the users of their service. The simple solution we propose, making it mandatory to switch off the electric battery when boarding the ferry, is inexpensive and easily implemented. When viewed in the context of wider transport problems in Malta, the glaring lack of cycling infrastructure and growing traffic problems, the authorities seem entirely out of their depth to handle these issues, when action is urgently needed.

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NGOs lokali jesprimu d-diżappunt tagħhom lejn l-awtoritajiet rigward il-politika tal-e-bikes fuq il-fast ferry

Transport Malta u l-Malta Maritime Authority reġgħu għal darba oħra pposponew laqgħa importanti bejn ir-rappreżentanti tal-għaqdiet tas-soċjetà ċivili minn Moviment Graffitti, Rota u Friends of the Earth Malta, liema laqgħa kellha l-ħsieb tindirizza politiki inġusti li qed ixekklu persuni li jagħmlu użu minn e-bikes u scooters biex jivvjaġġaw fuq il-Fast Ferry ta’ Għawdex. L-għaqdiet esprimew tħassib serju li, għal darba oħra, it-trasport multimodali mhux qed jingħata prijorità. Dan minkejja l-ħtieġa dejjem tikber biex jiġi indirizzat it-traffiku u biex jintlaħqu l-obbligi ambjentali ta’ Malta lejn il-pubbliku u fuq livell internazzjonali.

L-aħħar laqgħa, li kienet ippjanata għall-Ġimgħa fid-9am, ġiet imħassra dakinhar filgħodu stess, waqt li wħud mill-membri tal-għaqdiet, uħud minnhom minn Għawdex, kienu fi triqithom jew kienu diġà waslu fl-Uffiċċji ta’ Transport Malta f’Ħal Lija. Id-data tal-Ġimgħa kienet ġiet iffissata wara li laqgħa preċedenti li kellha ssir aktar kmieni dan ix-xahar ġiet ukoll imħassra mingħajr avviż raġonevoli minn qabel.

L-attitudni sfaċċata tal-awtoritajiet lejn din il-kwistjoni, u lejn iċ-ċittadini li suppost jirrappreżentaw, tqajjem id-dubji dwar il-prijoritajiet tal-awtoritajiet. Ir-rappreżentanti tal-għaqdiet jixtiequ jfakkru lill-awtoritajiet li l-pagi tagħhom huma mħallsa mit-taxxi tal-poplu, u li l-poplu li jaqdu għandu jkun il-prijorità assoluta tagħhom, u għalhekk għandu jiġi ttrattat b’rispett u mhux biċ-ċajt.

Fl-ispirtu ta’ djalogu kostruttiv, it-tliet għaqdiet talbu għal-laqgħa wara li l-operaturar tal-fast ferry ta’ Għawdex beda jinforza regoli li jillimitaw il-ġarr ta’ roti elettriċi – minn projbizzjoni totali fuq l-e-bikes, għal li jiġu mġiegħla jitħallew barra f’kundizzjonijiet li jagħmluhom suxxettibbli għat-temp u r-raxx tal-baħar, u għal li jitolbu li l-passiġġiera bl-e-bikes jitilgħu 20 minuta aktar kmieni. Dawn ir-regoli kollha ddaħħlu fis-seħħ minħabba tħassib sproporzjonat u bla bażi ta’ evidenza rigward il-fjammabbiltà spontanja ta’ batteriji magħmula mil-litju-jon.

L-għaqdiet, li r-rappreżentanti tagħhom huma esperti fil-qasam tat-trasport u s-saħħa, fil-laqgħa kienu se jenfasizzaw li tali riskji jeżistu għal kull tip ta’ batterija, inklużi dawk f’karozzi elettriċi, laptops, vapes u mowbajls, u jseħħu b’mod rari kawża ta’ tbagħbis tal-batterija, użu ta’ elettronika mhux rakkomandata, jew malfunzjoni waqt l-iċċarġjar. Huma ma sabu l-ebda evidenza ta’ xi kumpanija tat-trasport pubbliku oħra li għandha politiki ristrettivi bħal dawn għall-e-bikes fl-Ewropa. Sabiex jiġi mmitigat kwalunkwe riskju ta’ nar, li wieħed jitfi l-batteriji tal-e-bikes waqt li jkun riekeb il-vapur għandu jkun biżżejjed. Dan t’hawn fuq ġie kkoroborat minn Cycling Industries Europe, l-organizzazzjoni tal-kummerċ għas-settur taċ-ċikliżmu fl-Ewropa, li kkonfermat li “l-e-bikes huma soġġetti għal standards ta’ sigurtà u sikurezza għolja ħafna, li jfisser li r-riskji ta’ nar huma minimi” u barra minn hekk, li “prattikament in-nirien kollha kkawżati minn batteriji li ġew irreġistrati sal-ġurnata tal-lum seħħew waqt li l-batterija kienet qed tiċċarġja”.

Il-politiki restrittivi għar-roti elettriċi jikkuntrastaw mal-inċentivi finanzjarji sinifikanti tal-Gvern biex iħeġġeġ liċ-ċittadini jaqilbu mill-karozzi għar-roti elettriċi, b’mod partikolari għar-residenti t’Għawdex. It-tlaqqigħ tar-rota elettrika ma’ rabta bil-fast ferry bejn Għawdex u l-Belt Valletta hija alternattiva effiċjenti għall-ivvjaġġar bil-karozza bejn iż-żewġ gżejjer, u jgħin biex itaffi l-konġestjoni tat-traffiku u t-tniġġis tal-arja. Madankollu, it-tibdiliet kostanti fir-regoli fejn jidħlu l-e-bikes min-naħa tal-operatur tal-fast ferry ta’ Għawdex qed jagħmluha aktar diffiċli biex jintlaħqu l-objettivi marbuta mal-qlib għall-modalità elettrika tat-trasport u mat-tnaqqis tad-dipendenza fuq il-karozzi. Il-politiki jpinġu b’mod żbaljat l-e-bikes bħala apparati ta’ periklu, u jikkawżaw inkonvenjent lill-pubbliku. In-nuqqas ta’ avviż kif xieraq, l-infurzar kapriċċuż, u l-implimentazzjoni traskurata ta’ dawn il-politiki kollha qed iwasslu biex jaqtgħu qalb min jixtieq juża l-e-bikes.

Is-servizz tal-fast ferry ta’ Għawdex – konnessjoni tant bżonnjuża għal min jivvjaġġa bejn Malta u Għawdex, għar-residenti u għall-viżitaturi – huwa ssusidjat konsiderevolment mit-taxxi tal-poplu. Is-servizz għaċ-ċittadini għandu jkun l-ewwel prijorità. L-għaqdiet għalhekk qed jitolbu pubblikament lill-awtoritajiet tat-trasport u lill-operaturi tal-fast ferry ta’ Għawdex biex jerġgħu jirrevedu l-politiki tagħhom dwar l-e-bikes sabiex jiżguraw sistema tat-trasport aktar inklussiva, effiċjenti u sostenibbli, li tirrispetta lill-utenti tas-servizz tagħhom.

Is-soluzzjoni sempliċi li qed nipproponu, jiġifieri li jkun obbligatorju li wieħed jitfi l-batterija elettronika meta jirkeb il-vapur, tista’ tiġi implimentata faċilment u mingħajr spejjeż. Meta wieħed iqis dan kollu fil-kuntest tal-problemi usa’ marbuta mat-trasport f’Malta, in-nuqqas serju ta’ infrastruttura għaċ-ċiklisti u l-problemi tat-traffiku li dejjem qed jikbru, jidher li l-awtoritajiet ma jafux x’qed jagħmlu u mhumiex kapaċi jieħdu l-azzjonijiet meħtieġa fi żmien meta neħtieġu azzjoni b’mod urġenti.