State of old buses

I do not normally use the bus service, but one morning, on April 5, I decided to try route 49 from Qawra bus terminus to Valletta and back.

I was the first to board the bus (an old one fit for a museum), followed shortly by two visitors. I could not help noticing the very many torn seats as I entered and I was ashamed to see these visitors pointing to these seats and carefully avoiding them until they must have found a bench seat that was in a reasonably good condition. The bus floor was also dirty.

The return bus, not as old but still decrepit, also had torn seats.

How can the Malta Transport Authority allow such buses to continue operating in this manner? Are there no inspections of these vehicles? Do we have to wait long months or even years for more such buses to be scrapped and replaced by new ones? This is a blot on the island, and certainly not consistent with what the Malta Tourism Authority is trying to achieve.

I have travelled far and wide and in islands and countries that belong to what we used to call the "Third World", but with the exception of one country in Asia, which shall remain nameless, I have never seen such a low-class means of transport. The new buses on the other hand are a pleasure to use.

I have given the date of my travel just in case the transport authority decides to check the buses that ran from 8 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. Good luck.