Transport to Malta's match

I have just returned to the UK after a very enjoyable week in Malta.

One of the highlights was seeing Malta's football team put on an excellent display in deservedly beating Hungary. Congratulations to all concerned.

The purpose of this letter, however, is to comment on the transport arrangements for getting to the match. On Monday I enquired at Valletta bus station's information office if any buses were operating from the capital to the Ta' Qali Stadium. It was evident that there was little knowledge that there was a match so I was told to enquire again on Wednesday morning although from past experience of poor loadings it was thought unlikely that any service would operate.

On Wednesday morning I spoke to a very pleasant gentleman who was unaware of any service but advised me to ask a specific driver who was an official of the operators' association and happened to be in the bus station at that moment to see if he knew whether any service was operating.

Clearly no service was to be operated so I was advised to catch the 80/81 Rabat service and walk to the stadium via the Craft Village. This I did, catching a bus at 6 p.m. and including myself there were 16 passengers who then walked to the match. Presumably similar numbers were carried before and after this bus. After the game I rushed back past the Aircraft Museum and through the Craft Village, showing a couple of locals which way to walk in the poorly lit area, and arrived at the bus stop to join a substantial queue. Very soon a bus arrived with a couple of passengers on board and departed with a full seated load and one standing. One of the passengers was clearly very exhausted with the walk and I would expect there still to have been more potential passengers after this bus had departed at about 9.30 p.m.

The point I wish to make is this: if special buses had been provided and properly publicised I am sure that more people would have travelled to the match by bus and thus given the team more support. If that many people were prepared to walk the long distance to and from the bus how much potential revenue was lost both to the bus operation and the stadium? Incidentally, the two people that I walked back with were offered and accepted a lift back and I too was offered a lift but chose to use the bus. How many other potential bus passengers were lost through having to walk this distance and accepted lifts from kindly, and on this occasion celebrating motorists?