Valletta, Malta: How much cash would you ask for if you were paid to stop driving?
On a stunning island in Europe, crowded with history but choked with cars, the government came up with an idea to fix the traffic.
And the young people of the island had a quick response: No.
The Maltese government is struggling to get out of first gear with its plan to pay €25,000 over five years to anyone aged 18 to 30 who is willing to give up their driver’s licence.
The offer, worth about $42,000, is enough to buy a new car after the five years have expired. There might even be some spare change after the purchase of a Fiat 500 (from €20,000) or a Renault 4 electric vehicle (from €23,000).
But the money is not enough to convince the young to give up the freedom that comes from owning their own wheels.
“It’s a big thing, getting your licence,” says Gianluca Cremona, 18, an apprentice aviation mechanic.
“It’s a big part of being 18, driving around and having a bit of fun. So this idea doesn’t seem to sit right with a lot of people.”
It is not just that Cremona wants to drive to the beach with his friends. (He recommends Golden Bay and Ghadira, north-west of the capital, Valletta). It is his concern that public transport is not good enough.
So the government has a serious challenge. Malta now has 784 motor vehicles for every 1000 people, according to a national transport plan issued last year.
That is higher than other European Union countries, such as Poland, which has 703, or Italy, with 681. And Malta is the smallest nation state in the EU, with a land mass of just 316 square kilometres – less than half the size of the city of Canberra.
The country’s transport minister, Chris Bonett, is only counting on the licence incentive for some of the solution. Other ideas include a park-and-ride plan, more bus routes, a big investment in roads and an acceptance that remote working helps reduce traffic.
But the licence scheme is the talking point among the young. One concern is that the payments are spread over five years, at €5000 per year, so the recipients have to be patient. For most, however, the problem is the lack of alternatives to driving.
The Maltese National Youth Council says young people have repeatedly said that no financial incentive would convince them to give up their cars.
“Individuals cannot be expected to abandon private vehicles unless they are first provided with a public transport system that is reliable, efficient and trustworthy,” it says.
Visitors to Malta may not see this problem. Valletta and surrounding cities are ideal for walking or, better yet, catching a small boat across the harbour. Tourists can stroll from the 16th-century fortress walls to the tunnels of the Second World War within about 15 minutes, unless they stop at the cafes, bars and shops that line the streets.
Workers, however, have to battle the traffic. Cremona is at the start of his apprenticeship and expects to work long hours with a 6am start at the airport outside Valletta. Speaking to this masthead in the capital, he says he cannot do this by public transport.
“Buses? They’re not that reliable. We can all be honest about that. There’s no metro. That’s the main problem,” he says.
“It’s impossible to work without a car. It’s impossible to start your life properly without a car.”
Cremona has a solution for the government: change the incentive. He thinks the money should be offered to older people so they take their cars off the roads – starting with people aged over 70.
The government may find some young people willing to take up the offer. It has budgeted €25 million for the policy, which means only 1000 people have to accept.
Cremona will not be one of them. He wants to drive with his friends to places like Blue Grotto, a network of caves by the sea.
“It’s so amazing,” he says. “You can see the sunset – it’s beautiful. If you just go, drive around a bit, maybe stop and walk around, there are just so many places.”
David Crowe is Europe correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.