The first eBussed regional stakeholder meeting for Gozo was held on the 19th February 2020 at noon at the Ministry for Gozo hall. For this meeting, there were present representatives of the Ministry for Gozo (ecoGozo Directorate and Engineering Department), Gozo Channel Co Ltd, Gozo Business Chamber and Transport Malta.
The meeting started with a presentation by Mr Joseph Piscopo (eBussed Local Coordinator for Gozo). This included an explanation about the project background, how the project originated and the main objectives of the project. An overview of the project partners and the stage of e-Bus deployment of each partner was given so that the various stakeholders got a better idea of the project. The presentation ended with the 4 Themes of the Project and which partners are the Thematic Working Group Leader for each theme. Stakeholders were told that there is a possibility for them to attend these meetings abroad if the theme of the meeting interests them.
The director of the ecoGozo Directorate, Mr Joseph Cutajar then gave an explanation about the procurement of the 6 electric buses which was done through the SMITHS (Sustainable Multi Intermodal Transport Hubs) project which was developed by the Malta National Electromobility Platform and ITS within the Sustainable Mobility Unit of Transport Malta who decided to implement this type of solution within the national and local transport context. Mr Cutajar also explained that through funds of the SMITHS project, a multi-modal hub will also be built at Ta’ Xhajma in Xewkija; this hub will include a terminal for electric-powered bus and will serve as a Park and Ride from ta’ Xhajma to Mgarr Harbour, thus reducing traffic congestions at the harbour area.
A discussion about how the park and ride system will work followed, where Mr Cutajar explained that several aspects of the system are still undergoing discussions and have not been decided yet.
The meeting ended with a round table discussion about the Status Quo of e-Buses in Gozo. Particular attention was given to Stakeholder Involvement and Drivers & Barriers of e-Buses in Gozo. The information gathered from this discussion will be used to develop the regional Status Quo Report for Gozo.
