The Light Passenger Operators Association (LPOA) has sharply criticised Transport Malta’s decision to allow one of the country’s largest Y-plate fleets, operated by Agius Trading, to keep its 200 vehicles on the road despite failing to meet legal requirements.

“The same authorities that implemented the law have now given an undeserved extension to one operator. Why?” a spokesperson for the association asks.

Agius Services Limited is owned by Gozitan developer Mark Agius, who also operates the ‘Ta’ Dirjanu’ chain of supermarkets across Gozo.

The controversy stems from 2020 reforms that scrapped the requirement for fleet operators to maintain a legally approved Public Service Garage (PSG) – a Planning Authority-approved facility for storing vehicles when not in use. Instead, operators were allowed to keep their vehicles in personal home garages. 

This loophole led to widespread abuse, with some operators registering addresses that were inaccessible or incapable of housing multiple vehicles.

According to the LPOA, sustained pressure from the association prompted Transport Malta to reverse course in October 2023, reintroducing the PSG requirement for operators with five or more cars. Operators were given 12 months to comply, and while most met the deadline, one operator was granted an extension.

For Malta’s homegrown taxi businesses, this has meant investing thousands, often millions, into infrastructure to meet the law. Yet they now face the reality of competing, and in some cases being forced to work alongside, operators openly flouting the same rules.

Simply put, a driver working through Agius Trading can operate on ride-hailing platforms like eCabs, Bolt and Uber even if the vehicle has no legal garage space.

“It’s a complete distortion of the free market,” he says.

The association warns that the consequences are already severe. “Small fleet operators, those with four, six, ten cars, have been wiped out. It’s no longer financially viable for law-abiding operators to survive,” it says. 

“We’ve killed the Maltese worker who followed the law, and instead we’re protecting those who don’t. For two years we’ve gathered data and evidence to present to the Government, and in fact launched a civil court case. But it turns out the real problem lies within the authorities themselves – Identity Malta, Jobsplus and Transport Malta.”

The LPOA claims it has documented cases of foreign drivers, some with serious criminal records abroad, including fatal road incidents, being granted Maltese driving licences with little scrutiny.

“The damage is done,” the spokesperson concludes. “And it’s completely irreversible.”