There is a bus stop every 15 minutes in walking distance in Malta

Apr 23 2022

A recent data analysis showed that commuters are rarely more than 15 minutes away in walking distance from any given bus stop.

The new data looking at the distance between pick up points for public transport was crafted by analyst Charles Mercieca, who wanted to see how well served Malta is when it comes to public transport.

Publishing his findings in a new blog post, Mercieca went about asking how far the nearest bus stop is from any given point. Factors such as bus frequency and efficiency were admittedly not taken into account.

Despite this, it was found that access to public transport was still important as it is tied to aspects such as accessibility to healthcare, education and work, especially when it comes to people of lower socioeconomic standing.

Mercieca was able to use OpenStreetMap, which is a community-owned editable geographic database, to plot the location of all 2,060 bus stops in Malta and Gozo. Picking a random spot in Malta, he found that a person would be an average 340 metres away from a bus stop.

The only places that exceeded a 2.8 kilometre capping distance were Comino and Filfla. Assuming a walking speed of 5 km/hour, Mercieca found that it would be pretty difficult to be more than 15 minutes walking distance from a bus stop on the island.

Authorities have tried to make public transport use more effective and available. It is currently free for anyone aged between 14 and 20, students over 21-years-of age, over-70s and people with disability.

In the last October Budget Speech, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana had also announced that free public transport would be extended to all Maltese residents.

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Restaurants and bars to begin recycling waste starting with organic

Apr 23 2022

Starting from the 7th of May, catering establishments will be encouraged to separate their waste as part of a new pilot project.

The initiative will see catering establishments such as restaurants and snack bars taking out their separated organic waste in transparent waste bags or labelled bins on their kerbside.

The establishments will have times allocated to them, with guidelines on how to separate waste so as to avoid contamination. The aim is to increase the recycling rate across the island and use it as a source of clean energy.

With a particular focus on organic waste, the new initiative will take place on Saturday and Sunday between 1am and 5am. The initiative was announced by Energy Minister Miriam Dalli, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo and Parliamentary Secretary Alison Zerafa Civelli.

Led by the Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise, the initiative is being made possible in cooperation with the Local Council Association as part of a Long-Term Waste Management Plan from 2021 to 2030.

Minister Dalli explained how this initiative is being offered at no charge to further incentivise the separation of organic waste from such establishments due to their generation of considerable amount of organic waste.

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Netflix’s latest thriller ‘Anatomy of a Scandal’ is an absolute rollercoaster and people are loving it

Apr 22 2022

Recently, Netflix have been putting out one banger after the other and their latest drama smash has had viewers hooked from the minute it went live.

Big Little Lies creator David E. Kelley’s latest rollercoaster thriller Anatomy of a Scandal is all about shock twists and turns and trust us when we tell you that this miniseries will take your breath away.

Trying our best to spare you any details and potential spoilers, Anatomy of a Scandal is based on the book of the same name written by Sarah Vaughan and it is all about Britain’s scandalous political framework. The six-episode spectacular is centred around Rupert Friend, who plays Conservative Member of Parliament James Whitehouse.

After Whitehouse’s affair with a researcher makes national headlines and he is accused of sexual assault by Naomi Scott’s Olivia Lytton, the series begins to take shape and viewers are immediately hooked.

Watch the full trailer below:

Have you watched the series yet?

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Amazon to add 5% surcharge to account for fuel and inflation

Apr 22 2022

For the first time in its history, Amazon will be charging sellers a 5% surcharge to account for fuel and inflation.

The e-commerce platform reported that the fee will start to be applied as of April 28 due to the ever-increasing inflation. In a recent memo, Amazon wrote that “In 2022, we expected a return to normalcy as Covid-19 restrictions around the world eased, but fuel and inflation have presented further challenges,” going on to say that “It is unclear if these inflationary costs will go up or down, or for how long they will persist.”

The surcharge will apply to rates paid by sellers opting for Amazon’s fulfillment services such as storing, packing and shipping. Those who do not make use of Fulfillment by Amazon will not be affected by such costs.

The surcharge is the latest example of businesses’ reaction to spiking costs of energy and fuel. Even locally, employers are concerned about how much further they can absorb costs before passing them on to consumers, resulting in higher costs.

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