{"id":1316,"date":"2018-05-15T10:46:55","date_gmt":"2018-05-15T08:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/?post_type=article&p=1316"},"modified":"2018-05-15T10:46:55","modified_gmt":"2018-05-15T08:46:55","slug":"inefficjenzi-fis-servizz-ipprovdut-mill-gozo-channel","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/article\/inefficjenzi-fis-servizz-ipprovdut-mill-gozo-channel\/","title":{"rendered":"Inefficiencies in the service provided by Gozo Channel"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Gozitan workers and\u00a0those\u00a0who\u00a0often cross the channel have voiced concern regarding the precarious position the service provided by the\u00a0Gozo\u00a0Channel is in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the last few days,\u00a0delays have been reported on more than one occasion,\u00a0among them the delay\u00a0caused by a bomb threat on one of the vessels. The\u00a0anger and frustration of the passengers and drivers stranded for a long time at\u00a0the quay in\u00a0\u010airkewwa\u00a0and at\u00a0the quay at\u00a0Im\u0121arr\u00a0in\u00a0Gozo\u00a0were palpable.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The queues, both at\u00a0\u010airkewwa\u00a0and at\u00a0Im\u0121arr, were incredibly long, with hundreds of cards waiting for the moment they could embark on the crossing between the two islands.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Without a doubt,\u00a0Gozo\u00a0depends on Malta\u00a0for everything, so if the efficiency of the transport service between the two islands falls drastically, the island of\u00a0Gozo\u00a0will be isolated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And who\u00a0is bearing\u00a0the brunt of all these delays? The many Gozitan workers and students who need to make the crossing every day to get to work or to their place of study! The Gozitan patients who have medical appointments at Mater Dei Hospital!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These people are\u00a0suffering not only because they have to wake up early to make the trip to Malta but also because they are getting back to\u00a0Gozo\u00a0very late.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, because\u00a0the cargo service from Sa Maison\u00a0is no longer in operation, Gozitans now have to\u00a0pay the extra expenses related to transporting goods to\u00a0Gozo\u00a0out of their own pocket. On arriving at\u00a0\u010airkewwa\u00a0after a long drive, these trucks have to wait for the arrival of a vessel that is not furnished with\u00a0hoistable\u00a0decks so that they can get on.\u00a0Once\u00a0a boat which can load the trucks arrives the trucks are given preference, causing ripples of anger among car drivers who have been\u00a0waiting in the queue\u00a0and\u00a0who end up missing the boat! It is\u00a0a\u00a0no\u00a0win\u00a0situation!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The decision to\u00a0stop the service that used to leave from Sa Maison has also negatively affected the environment on the roads through which these trucks now have to pass \u2026 not to mention that they are the cause of even more traffic congestion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These delays are also\u00a0impacting business and tourism in\u00a0Gozo. The\u00a0Gozo\u00a0Business Chamber has issued a statement saying that these delays are harming business in\u00a0Gozo. It also said that the time for consultation is over and drastic action needs to be taken.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even the Association of Gozitan Workers in Malta\u00a0has criticised the excessive delays and has noted that the vessels are getting worn out and are thus becoming a source of tension\u00a0for those who depend on the\u00a0Gozo\u00a0Channel for a living, be they employees, self-employed or in business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the commercial activity in\u00a0Gozo\u00a0has increased, the current structures and operations are not coping with the increasing demand, so much so that they are harming the sustainability of progress.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Gozitan workers and\u00a0those\u00a0who\u00a0often cross the channel have voiced concern regarding the precarious position the service provided by the\u00a0Gozo\u00a0Channel is in.\u00a0 In the last few days,\u00a0delays have been reported on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1317,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"spay_email":""},"issuem_issue":[58],"issuem_issue_categories":[7],"issuem_issue_tags":[],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"2.8.8","language":"en","enabled_languages":["mt","en"],"languages":{"mt":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1316"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1316"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1322,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1316\/revisions\/1322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue?post=1316"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_categories?post=1316"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_tags?post=1316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}