Have you heard? Malta Public Transport’s new bike sharing service stations have been inaugurated in Gozo – another step towards more intermodality on the islands. In attendance were Minister Ian Borg and Minister Clint Camilleri.

What’s the bike sharing service all about?

This service, named Tallinja Bike, offers a bike sharing system which operates to and from a network of dedicated stations. After a one-time registration process, users can pick up a bicycle at any of the docking stations and drop it off at any other closest to their destination.

Minister Borg said that this is one of the ways in which the country will move “towards cleaner air with less emissions, greener lungs and offering different forms of alternative transport,” while also encouraging the public to use different modes of transport.

These new stations were installed in prime areas at the ferry terminal in Mgarr and the bus terminus in Victoria. The company plans to expand the service on the island with new stations in other localities in the coming months.

Minister Clint Camilleri said that the system is convenient and emission-free and ideal for short journeys and, thanks to the electric motor, the bikes can go up the hills with ease. He explained that Gozo is an ideal place for this type of transport, as the distance between one locality and another is short.

Great! How does it work?

This bike sharing service involves no registration fees or monthly subscriptions, and the standard pay-per-use rate is €3 for the first half an hour and €2 every 30 minutes thereafter. Holders of the personalised Tallinja Card and the Explore Card benefit from a special rate of €1.50 for the first half hour, while users paying through their Valletta Card or ExplorePlus Meep Card enjoy two free trips. The payment method is selected during registration at any of the stations.

“After rolling out the first eight stations in Malta, the next most obvious choice for us was to launch this in Gozo,” says Alan Azzopardi, Mobility Services Manager at Tallinja Technology Ltd. “With two stations in strategic locations such as Mgarr and Victoria, we have automatically linked the centre of Gozo to the ferry. Riders can now not only explore the island of Gozo very comfortably in a clean and sustainable manner on an electric bicycle, but also commute to and from the ferry.”

First introduced in 2018, Tallinja Bike stations are located at strategic points around Valletta, the Floriana Park & Ride, Pembroke Park & Ride, the University of Malta, and are now in Gozo. It is also worth mentioning that, prior to the pandemic, registered Tallinja Bike users had increased, generating an average 25 unique trips every day.