Updated: Bus lane ‘illegal’; Transport Malta says it's not

A bus lane in a two-lane road is “illegal”, according to a local tribunal commissioner, prompting wardens along the Sliema-Gżira front to issue only warnings. The revelation emerges from correspondence exchanged between the Sliema council and the wardens company responsible for enforcement in the locality. In the wake of what he described as “the dangerous practice” of motorists speeding through the bus lane to avoid traffic congestion, Sliema councillor Michael Briguglio asked for statistics on the number of fines issued to drivers who used the bus lane. Much to his surprise, the reply was that wardens were only issuing warnings since they had been informed by tribunal commissioner Lynn Zahra, a lawyer, that it was illegal to have a bus lane in a two-lane road. Speaking to the Times of Malta, Dr Briguglio said that the commissioner had informed wardens that for a bus lane to be legal it had to have another two lanes adjacent to it. He said the wardens company also pointed out that the bus lane at Mrieħel had been removed because there were only two lanes in each carriageway. Attempts to contact Dr Zahra yesterday proved futile. The controversial Sliema-Gżira bus lane starts...