**‘One moment it’s quiet, the next it’s panic’ – Tackling the Traffic Gridlock in Malta** Malta, a charming island nation known for its rich history, stunning architecture, and vibrant culture, is facing a growing challenge that threatens to overshadow its allure: traffic gridlock. The narrow, winding streets of Valletta and other urban areas are often…
**Extra Bus Services for Birgufest on Saturday: Ensuring Seamless Access to Malta’s Fête Extravaganza** As the vibrant streets of Birgu prepare to come alive with the sights, sounds, and flavors of the much-awaited Birgufest on Saturday, the Malta Public Transport is stepping up its game to ensure that everyone can enjoy the festivities without a…
Bells rang out across Valletta at noon on September 28, 2025, but they weren’t the usual cathedral chimes. Instead, the sound came from every parish band club, fire engine, and school xylophone that could be mustered, heralding a triple announcement that will reshape Malta’s next decade: free public transport for all residents starting October 1,…
**Islanders Pause as September’s Final Friday Unfolds: What Today’s Announcements Mean for Malta** Valletta’s bronze bells had barely finished chiming nine when Prime Minister Robert Abela stepped up to the Auberge de Castille microphone, flanked by a turquoise backdrop that echoed the September sea. The date—26 September 2025—will be bookmarked in local diaries as the…
Valletta’s streets will pulse with music, lasers and live experiments this Friday night, but the real innovation may be the 24 sleek buses that will ferry thousands of revellers to Science in the City – free of charge. For the first time in the festival’s 11-year history, Transport Malta and Malta Public Transport have laid…
Letters to the Editor – September 23, 2025: The Island Speaks Back By Luke Caruana | Hot Malta Valletta’s morning cafés were still clinking with espresso cups when the Times of Malta’s letters page landed on doorsteps and screens island-wide. By 8 a.m., WhatsApp groups from Marsaxlokk to Mellieħa were buzzing about the same thing:…
Valletta’s Grandmaster’s Palace balcony was still in morning shadow when Prime Minister Robert Abela stepped up to the microphone just after 9 a.m. on Friday, 20 September 2025. Below him, a restless crowd of students still clutching their ħobż biż-żejt breakfast wraps, pensioners fanning themselves with yesterday’s Times of Malta, and tourists who’d wandered over…
Aftersun Festival’s Late-Night Bus Lifeline: How Malta Is Keeping Partiers (and Parents) Happy St. Julian’s, 02:15 a.m. A gaggle of glitter-dusted teenagers tumble out of Café del Mar, phones dead, heels in hand, chanting the last drop of “Festa Aftersun” that still booms across St. George’s Bay. In any other July they would be bargaining…
Two gleaming, nine-metre electric buses slid silently onto Republic Street this morning, their turquoise-and-yellow livery catching the early spring sun like a pair of oversized ħarīsa sweets. In a country where the morning commute is still soundtracked by the diesel growl of 30-year-old Bedfords, the unveiling felt less like a press event and more like…
Floriana’s Granaries shimmered under a honey-gold September dawn as cannon-fire from the Saluting Battery echoed across Valletta’s bastions. By 07:00 CEST on 14 September 2025, Malta had already digested the first wave of national announcements—some expected, others slipped in quietly while the country was still rubbing sleep from its eyes. From bus lanes to beatifications,…
Shock and ash spiralled over Naxxar yesterday afternoon as three Arriva-era buses were turned to blackened shells in a ferocious blaze that erupted inside the old Magnolia Depot behind the parish church. By the time the last hose was rolled up at 6.42 p.m., little remained except smouldering frames, the acrid smell of burnt rubber…
Three Buses Go Up in Smoke in Naxxar – But This Wasn’t Just Any Fire By Hot Malta staff | Tuesday 07:15 The first orange glow was spotted by a pensioner walking his Yorkshire terrier along the silent stretch of Triq il-Birguma just after 3 a.m. Within minutes, the sky above Naxxar was lit like…
