Big Steps – little footprints – Rethinking Transport 2

Big Steps – little footprints – Rethinking Transport 2

February 18, 2020 News

For this month’s Big Steps, Little Footprints post, we’re featuring Jennifer Zammit from The Public Transport Project (Malta). Below she shares what inspired her to change the way she travels.

“After attending last year’s protest against the Central Link Project, it got me thinking that surely we could find many, more sustainable ways to reduce the ridiculous amount of traffic on these tiny islands, opposed to bulldozing through precious agricultural land and destroying hundreds of mature trees. Although the project left me feeling angry and helpless initially, I turned my attention inwards and asked “what could I do to reduce my car use?”

Instead of casually reaching for my car keys, I took some time to think about the alternatives and started using our Public Transport system. This is how the FB page The Public Transport Project was born. Through this page and more importantly, its members, navigating the Public Transport system became simpler and supported my mission to keep using it.

My conscious decision to use and seek alternatives to the car, not only influenced how I travel but also how I organise daily life. Moving locality made commuting by bus more challenging, hence I made several lifestyle choices in order to travel less and more efficiently, mainly by keeping my activities, work and school local and within walking distance. By making use of other services such as having my monthly groceries delivered and grouping weekly errands, I have reduced my car use by more than half and make the most out of every car trip.

Although I won’t be handing over my car keys any time soon, if we all took a conscious look at the casual way in which we use our cars, we could really make a difference to our environment and air quality.”