Gozo tourism operator falls back into line as tailored vehicle exemption expires

A change to Malta’s transport regulations, hastily introduced last year to accommodate a single Gozitan tourism operator, has quietly lapsed, bringing an unusual regulatory episode to a close.

Gozo Pride, a Xewkija-based company that for more than a decade used ageing off-road jeeps to ferry tourists across Gozo’s rugged terrain, has finally withdrawn the vehicles from service after the expiry of a bespoke legal amendment that had allowed it to continue operating beyond a statutory deadline.

Similar tour operators, particularly in Gozo, were compelled during the summer of last year to invest millions of euros in new vehicles after safety concerns prompted Transport Malta to enforce modernisation rules originally introduced in 2020.

The regulations required operators to phase out obsolete jeeps and upgrade their fleets by August 2025.

While the sector largely complied, Gozo Pride lagged. When the cut-off date arrived, the company’s newly ordered vehicles had yet to be delivered. Rather than sanctioning the operator, the transport ministry intervened to change the law to accommodate the company.

As first reported by The Shift News, an amendment to the relevant legal notice was rushed through the Government Gazette following the direct involvement of transport minister Chris Bonett and Transport Malta chief executive Kurt Farrugia. The amendment extended the deadline by four months – a move that effectively benefited only one company.

By the end of last year, the exemption had run its course. Gozo Pride announced on social media that its long-serving jeeps had been “put to rest”.

The tone of the announcement has angered rival operators, many of whom say they were forced to shoulder heavy capital costs while Gozo Pride was shielded by political discretion.

“It was not enough that the law was changed to suit one company while others complied,” one competing operator told The Shift. “They now appear to be boasting about it. This confirms what many of us feared – that there is sleaze inside the transport ministry.”

Industry figures argue that the episode exposed them to unfair competition, undermining trust in regulatory enforcement and the principle of a level playing field – a recurring concern in Malta’s tightly regulated economy.

Gozo Pride is owned by Daniela and Joseph Farrugia from Sannat. The latter is also a government employee within the Fisheries Department in Gozo, which falls under the political responsibility of Gozo minister Anton Refalo. He is also the brother of Andreina Fenech Farrugia, the former director general of fisheries.

Neither Minister Bonett nor Transport Malta’s Kurt Farrugia have publicly explained why enforcement was suspended in favour of a legislative workaround, accommodating a specific economic player.