Motor Vehicles (Tariff of Fares) (Amendment) Regulations, 2004

L.N. 400 of 2004

MALTA TRANSPORT AUTHORITY ACT

(CAP. 332)

Motor Vehicles (Tariff of Fares) (Amendment) Regulations, 2004

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 32 of the Malta

Transport Authority Act, the Minister for Urban Development and Roads

has, after consultation with the Malta Transport Authority, made the

following regulations>-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Motor Vehicles (Tariff

of Fares) (Amendment) Regulations, 2004, and shall be read and

construed as one with the Motor Vehicles (Tariff of Fares) Regulations,

1982, hereinafter referred to as “the principal regulations”.

(2) These regulations shall come into force on the date of

their publication in the Gazette.

Wherever applicable in the principal regulations, the term

“Public Transport Authority” shall be substituted by the term “Malta

Transport Authority”.

Regulation 2 of the principal regulations shall be renumbered

regulation 2, deletes

as regulation 6 thereof and for regulation 3, thereof there shall be

substituted the following>

2. In these regulations, unless the context otherwise

“Interpretation.

requires>

“Authority” means the Malta Transport Authority

as established by the Malta Transport Authority Act<

“coach” means a vehicle constructed exclusively

for the carriage of seated passengers<

“fare” means the sum charged for the conveyance

of persons in motor vehicles licensed to carry passengers

for hire or reward<

“hire or reward” means the carriage of passengers

other than on own account, that is to say against payment

or compensation by the person transported or by the

transport organiser, whether such payment or

compensation is made directly or indirectly<

“passenger” means, for the purpose of these

regulations, a person travelling in a motor vehicle

licensed to carry passengers for hire or reward, but who

is not the driver<

“route bus” means a vehicle constructed principally

for the carriage of seated passengers and with areas for

standing passengers to allow frequent passenger

movement, licensed to carry passengers for hire or

reward and which is registered to perform scheduled trips

with the Central Office for Scheduled Bus Transport

Services<

“stored value contact card” means a card implanted

with a microchip with stored monetary value, which can

be re-loadable and re-used by transferring value to it from

an automated teller machine or other similar device,

issued by the Central Office for Scheduled Bus Transport

Services and which may be used for the purpose of

making payments for services rendered by the said

Office.

3. (1) A person travelling on a vehicle licensed for

carriage

of persons for hire or reward shall not refuse or

omit to pay to the owner, driver or conductor of such a vehicle

any sum which is payable by such person to such owner, driver

or conductor for the hire of the vehicle or the fare for the

carriage of such person in the vehicle.

(2) The owner or driver or conductor of a vehicle

used to carry passengers for hire or reward shall not charge

or demand for services rendered a greater sum than that fixed

for such services.

(3) The driver of a taxicar shall not charge or

demand a greater sum than the fare shown by the taximeter

or a greater sum than the fares shown in Table I of the Second

Schedule to these regulations.

(1) Every passenger on a route bus shall pay

the appropriate fare for the journey such passenger wishes to

take on the said motor bus.

(2) Any passenger on a route bus who either

negligently or wilfully fails to pay the fare due or who travels

beyond the correct stage for a fare already paid, shall be liable

on conviction to a fine (multa) which does not exceed Lm20

in respect of such offence.

(3) Passengers shall take their turn in queue to

board a route bus and the driver or conductor shall either

collect the fare and issue a ticket corresponding to that fare,

or issue a receipt corresponding to the fare to be paid if the

passenger is in possession of a stored value contact card, or

punch the pre-paid single trip ticket if the passenger is in

possession of such a ticket, as the case may be.

(4) No driver or conductor or ticket seller shall

demand a fare higher than that established in the tariff.

(5) When fares lower than those established in

the official tariff are charged, a list of such lower fares shall

be submitted to the Authority and such fees shall be shown in

a conspicuous place inside the motor route bus. Such lower

fares shall not be raised before the lapse of two days after

notice in writing has been given to the Authority and a printed

notice has been affixed in a prominent position inside the

vehicle. The lower fares shall not be raised in any case above

the fares established in the official tariff of fares.

(6) Any officer of the Authority, route managers

and transport assistants, while on duty, shall not be made to

pay the fare when travelling on a motor route bus. They may

travel in excess of the number of passengers allotted to the

motor route bus.

(1) No passenger on a route bus not in

possession of a ticket shall refuse to pay the due fare to the

driver or conductor on demand.

(2) The driver or conductor of a route bus shall

issue to the passenger, tickets, either in the form of a receipt

from a bus ticketing machine, or tickets issued by the Central

Office for Scheduled Services, corresponding to the fare paid

by the passenger either for himself or herself or for any other

passenger or in respect of any parcel for the conveyance of

which a charge of six cents may be made.

(3) If the abovementioned receipt or ticket is not

issued by the driver or conductor, or if the receipt or ticket

issued does not correspond to the fare paid by the passenger,

or the receipt or ticket has already been used by another

passenger, the driver or conductor shall be guilty of an offence

and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine (multa) not

exceeding Lm20.

(4) Drivers or conductors shall obtain the tickets

from the Central Office for Scheduled Services.

(5) The tickets shall show the fare charged and

shall be of such a size, colour and shape as the Authority may

direct.

(6) Every driver or conductor shall keep tickets

of all fares relative to any particular route which shall only be

used if the ticketing machine in the bus is not functioning

because it is in need of repair.”.

Amends the First

In the First Schedule to the principal regulations –

4. Schedule to the

principal

regulations.

(a) for the words “(Regulation 2)” there shall be substituted

the words “(Regulation 6)” and for the words “motor omnibus” or

“motor omnibuses” there shall be substituted the words “route bus”

or “route buses”<

(b) for the words “the General Secretary” in paragraph 3

(1), there shall be substituted the words “any officer”< and

(c) the words “General Secretary of the” in paragraphs 3

(2), 4 (1) and (2), 5 (1) and (2) and 7 shall be deleted.

5. The Second Schedule to the principal regulations shall be Amends the Second

Schedule to the

amended as follows>

principal

regulations.

(a) the paragraph starting with the words “Tariff of Fares”

and ending with the words “Motor Vehicles Regulations)”, and

Tables I, II and III thereof shall be deleted<

(b) for paragraph E of Table IV there shall be substituted

the following>

“E. (1) Whoever needs the service of a taxi car for a trip

leaving the Malta International Airport shall do so through

an apposite office housed at the Malta International Airport

itself. Payment for such a trip shall be made at the said office.

Taxi drivers shall only provide the requested service upon

presentation of the applicable receipt by the person or persons

requesting the service.

(2) Tourists who opt to take a taxi tour from the

Malta Seaport Terminal or tourists who need to use the

service of a taxi car for a trip leaving the said Seaport Terminal,

shall do so from a fare-paying booth set up for this purpose at

the said Seaport Terminal. Payment for such a tour or trip

shall be made at the said booth. Taxi drivers shall only provide

the requested service upon presentation of the applicable

receipts by any person requesting the tour or service.

For the purpose of this proviso the word “tourist” means

passengers arriving in and departing from Malta by the same

vessel and on the same voyage.”<

(c) immediately after paragraph F of Table IV there shall

be inserted the following new paragraph>

“G. Any person who operates or drives a taxi car in

contravention of any provisions of these regulations shall be

guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to those

fines as stipulated in article 16A of the Traffic Regulation

Ordinance.”<

(d) in the title to Table IV, the words “TABLE IV” and

“Taxi Cars” shall be replaced by the words “TABLE I” and “Tariff

of Fares for Taxicars” respectively.”.

Regulations 164 and 180 of the Motor Vehicles Regulations,

1994, shall be deleted.

The Mini Bus Service (Tariff of Fares) Regulations, 1991 are

hereby deleted.