PTA to press Transport Malta to suspend aggressive driver

P.Borg

Jul 15th 2010, 10:01

This is why I always supported privatisation. I hope that the new authority scraps everything and everyone. Let us see well dressed and educated people with decent buses driving in the streets. I am tired of seeing men's bellys full of beer, swearing from the morning till night and I am tired of getting in a bus and getting out with my clothes almost black from white. In my opinion this person should be severely fined for damages and DISMISSED not suspended. When are authorities going to impliment discipline in this cowboy country? Then we are asked why we use so much our cars. The answer is in this article.

C Grech

Jul 15th 2010, 09:51

Not acceptable that any service provider in any field of work and in any country treats anyone in the manner this bus driver treated Ms Reymundo Cuesta BUT is it fair that said tourist should give the impression, in whichever forum she chooses to share her experience, that all Maltese are like the bus driver in question?
I think not.
Of course, am ever hopeful that the Public Tranport Reform will effectively get rid of damaging elements such as this bus driver, as we really have had enough of the behaviour of this kind of person...

h galea

Jul 14th 2010, 01:46

Transport in Malta has gone from bad to worse. Unless all drivers are discharged we can never solve the problem. They are unable to drive from ''A'' to ''B'' with out a foul up in every trip. It is impossible to know how their minds work during driving, with all the years as drivers, they still can not understand they are carrying passengers/tourists onboard. We can not take a seat and relax, instead, we are constantly on alert as to what's next foul will be.Most windows can not be opened, because something is keeping them from sliding.The roof ''window'' i saw last was kept in place be plastic bottles, so as not to rattle. We have gone down in standards all over the country!!!!!Going to court is a joke, or a farse, we have people who belive to be playing god with justice, shouting to wittness and placing the wrong accused on the podum, and asking if i see the accused. It was a setup from begining to end. These are the jungle laws of malta.

j.camenzuli

Jul 13th 2010, 21:59

Please note that an inspection of all public transport should be carried out urgently as the state of some buses is questionable. They don't do Malta's image any good. Drivers swearing, radio music full on, driving while using their mobiles, seats torn or damaged which doen't do the passenger's back any good. Buses not stopping at bus stops. others driving at excessive speed as if they always have the right of way. Passengers left standing in the heat of the sun while the driver is sipping whatever. It must also be said that not all drivers fall into this catagory but the but apples needs to be weeded out as any future reform of the transport will not succeed.

gino caruana

Jul 13th 2010, 20:12

Ghaliex ix-xufier ma isemiex b'ismu ?????????? F'din zgur ma'hemmx data protection jew inkella gie ordnat mil-Qorti sabiex ma'jisemiex ismu.

A. Vassallo

Jul 13th 2010, 20:09

Nittamaw li fir -riforma tat-trasport pubbliku jkollna xufiera KOMPLETAMENT GODDA u li qatt ma hadmu fit-trasport pubbliku forsi hnizrijiet bhal dawn jispiccaw darba ghal dejjem.

Offizi bhal dawn haqqhom tkeccija mmedjata mix-xogho lu mhux biss sospensjoni. Allahares nibqghu naccettaw dawn il-hnizrijiet. Il-hsara li ssir lis-settur tat-turizmu Malti b'dawn l-affarijiet ma tista qatt tigi kkalkulata.

Joseph E Briffa

Jul 13th 2010, 19:15

It's very strange that this rude and aggressive driver wasn't booked by the policeman.....If the latter thought that he was being kind, I am afraid he has failed miserably in his duties and has done alot of harm to the whole population of Malta. Policemen have been given induction course over the past two decades during which they are supposed to be taught how to behave so that even those who are not naturally gifted with good manners and common sense will behave decently. . But apparently these courses are not being so effective. Probably that's the reason why it has recently been decided to have new recruits undergo training course of 9 months duration. Hope that Transport Malta will do their job as requested by the PTA.

Janice R

Jul 13th 2010, 17:45

What is this.. the 5th article/letter that describes our pride and joy of a transport service? Enjoy the credit crunch thanks to the bus drivers..!

C Zammit

Jul 13th 2010, 17:38

hehe...... viva r-riforma. Dan ha l €100,000 tax xarabank ukoll? Mhux forsi ghandu wkoll il garanzija tax xoghol ghal 10 snin li gejjin hux? in nanniet kienu jghidu, min jitwieled tond, ma jmutx kwadru.

Mela l ewwel inhallsu l flus biex naghmlu reklami barra minn xtutna, mbaghad jigi xi hadd bhal dan u jharbtilna kollox. Miskin il ministru tat Turizmu!

MBorg

Jul 13th 2010, 17:24

This driver acted badly, but that does not mean that all bus drivers act in the same manner.

Lately I have been using Bus 645 to Cirkewwa, believe me the drivers on this route make us proud. They always look neat and go out of their way to help passengers. Very often calling out when they reach a particular spot to help tourists.

So let us not go overboard and say that all bus drivers act like animals because it is not true.

R.Gauci

Jul 13th 2010, 16:45

While I condemn all out this incident and others that happen on a daily basis on the so called Maltese Public Bus Transport System and show my sympathy to the victims involved, I cannot stop from pointing my finger and blame the present and past Transport Ministers for this shame of situation this sector is in!! They all failed to give our country a decent Bus Service after pumping so many millions of Tax Payers Money in subsidies to it!!

Mark Seychell

Jul 13th 2010, 16:18

Why on earth did the police man who calmed this man down not arrest him on the spot for violent conduct????????????????

WAKE UP

L Spiteri

Jul 13th 2010, 16:10

One of the reasons why many Maltese citizens prefer using their own vehicles even when, and where, public transport is more convenient.

K Borg

Jul 13th 2010, 15:57

"... had to call to 112 from my mobile phone. They gave me the number of the police office in Valletta and they told me to go to the police office in the bus station," the tourist said."

If I were the Police Commissioner I would be very troubled by this assertion. This is a very common reply that one is given when we call 112. They expect that everyone is sitting down relaxed with pen and paper ready to take a number. If someone has indeed called 112 then this is an emergency!

It should be the operator's duty on 112 to seek help from the nearest station or mobile police squad to assist to the distress.

Police commissioner, kindly note the above.

J.Tonna

Jul 13th 2010, 15:50

Why should drivers worry or act civilly, if they lose patrons the Government (us taxpayers) will subsidise them.

This is apart from the harm they do to tourism.

D Buttigieg

Jul 13th 2010, 15:41

Oh, so everything is perfect in Spain? Nothing ever happens like this in Spain? So if I get a bad experinece of some sort, than the whole country is to blame? If this is the kind of tourists we have then I think we're better off without. I think this tourist is trying to get her holiday paid by complaining. I am not saying that the driver was right but by spreading her email and telling the whole world not to come to Malta because of this incident I think that's over-reacting. So the rest of his/her holiday in Malta was a complete mess?

Ray Mangion

Jul 13th 2010, 15:38

An everyday occurance by many of the bus drivers. Like taxes and lorry drivers, they think they are the Gods of the roads; " get out of my way because I am bigger than you' attitude and forget the rules of the road. Where is this new law about penalising people using the mobile while driving? It is so commonplace and wherever one goes, one in three drivers is using the mobile. Oh, by the way this bus driver will not even be suspended because we also have a useless team at Malta Transport. I wrote to report about another mini bus driver with a van full of school kids. He was driving so fast, did not stop at the roundabout to let traffic from the right priority; I had to swerve sharply to avoid him. he too swerved so severly that the bus nearly overturned. Shall I go on? Not even a response from Malta Transport. See what I mean? That is why all this abuse continues.

Pierre Abdilla

Jul 13th 2010, 14:58

These are the real problems with our tourism product - how can we accept such behaviour? The rest is all bla bla bla! We know what the problem is and we turn our eyes in the other direction!

victor pulis

Jul 13th 2010, 14:25

A policeman boarded the bus, gave them back their tickets and "convinced the bus driver to do his work".
I hope he said please!

Victor Spiteri, President of the Public Transport Association, has assured a Spanish tourist that the association would be calling on Transport Malta to suspend a bus driver over aggressive behaviour.
I hope Mr. Spiteri also says please to TM!

MT Caruana

Jul 13th 2010, 14:18

U kemm il darba ma jtukx cans isib post u tpoggi u jaqbdu u jsuqu!!

Itijhom €0.50 addio ic change, imma hoiiii ara ma jfetilikx itijhom int xi €0.01 niqes ehh ghax ma jtellikx!!

Jew tkun fuq stage u kif jasal vicin ihares in naha l-ohra tat triq taparsi ma rakx !!

U xi nghidu ghal venda il-belt, il-bus qed hemm parked imma CLOSED, xemx u xita ibqa barra stenna, u minuta qabel jigi....
U Alla hares nibqa sejra ghax ma niqafx.

Transport Pubbliku fi stat avanzat tal biki, mhux kollha ehh, biex namluwha cara, ghax hemm minnhom genwini u qalbhom tajba.

Charles Micallef

Jul 13th 2010, 14:15

Since some of the buses owners singed the agreement with the government to ‘cash in’ on years of providing a substandard service for the Maltese commuter, the service in general has taken a turn for the worse, with some of the already dilapidated buses are now being driven on our roads in the most appalling condition, timetables being totally ignored and being rude to their fare-paying passengers has become the order of the day!

Hence I would like to ask the relevant authorities what precautions were taken at the time to ensure that some sort of a decent service must be provided until the new operating company will take over.

B Sant

Jul 13th 2010, 14:11

'we' are so disappointed of his behaviour that no one dares to mention him by name !!!!! omerta!!!!!!!!!

Joann Bugeja

Jul 13th 2010, 13:58

@ Ferriggi- why do we have to politicize everything !? As if Dr.Demarco needs your suggestion to say something in such matters! He knows what he should do..an example the shameful incidents over the general strike by bus owners held two years ago.

Alan Watson

Jul 13th 2010, 13:56

Before visiting Malta for the first time some years ago I was 'advised' to always have the correct fare as change was rarely, if ever, given. I was also 'advised' that bus drivers were almost always rude. However, whilst I have always tried to have the correct monies, there seemed little point in arguing over small amounts of change when not returned. Bear in mind that in the UK just travelling between one fare point and the next will normally cost around £1. Drivers attitudes I have found do vary with some being very helpful, calling out when the destination is approaching for instance, whilst others have barely been able to grunt acknowledgement of paying the fare. But, as this seems to be an atitude prevalent here in the UK also, perhaps we are not surprised to encounter it in Malta. Regarding disciplinary action......... are these not the same drivers who have had their employment guaranteed for many years?

E. Azzopardi

Jul 13th 2010, 13:50

That is exactly why so many, probably the vast majority, are so sceptical of the "new" transport system. Once we are going to have the same people on board ( and these same people have been promised a guaranteed job for ten years - no wonder they act the way they do!)
then I am afraid nothing will change. We shall have the same inefficient service, arrogance, discourtesy and all those fuming buses. The adverts have very nice words of praise about the "new" service. But then you are what you do and not what you say.
We can apologize the whole day. The damage has been done. Something like this costs Malta a lot in "bad advertising". So now who pays for this?

Joseph N Attard

Jul 13th 2010, 13:48

Does this fellow form part of one of the last two bidders being considered for the new public transport system? God help us if he, or the likes of him, will still be with us when the final tender is awarded. It would mean that the taxpayer would have financed a huge, costly, but fruitless exercise.

joe vella

Jul 13th 2010, 13:47

it is shameful that the bus driver acted in this manner, but do not think the spanish are angels!
some of my worst travel experiences happened there and I was so disgusted that i have never been there again and like ms isabel, I have made my bad impressions known to as many people as possible!!
however this does not justify such behaviour, the bus drivers are well known for their unruly behaviour and this is a typical, run of the mill case- shame on austin gatt that he has dished out so much of our money and assuring them of continuation under the new structure
better send them all off to a basic educational course first, and why should the PTA have to exert pressure on Transport Malta, he should be sacked immediately
and what about the police, is action going to be taken?

r ferriggi

Jul 13th 2010, 13:42

Dr Demarco,


please speak up...... urgent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

M.Caruana

Jul 13th 2010, 13:37

Malta must obviously suspend the driver to deter other drivers from such attitude, since we all know this is not the first time. Only yesterday I saw a bus almost crushing tourists in Paceville. Mostly it's the young drivers who are highly uncivilized and almost barbaric in their attitudes and driving. How about a hospitality course? And if they persist find employment elsewhere where there is no human interaction. Then maybe we need to refund the tourist's ticket to avoid the bad publicity. However one question remains. Would this spanish person have written to all the newspapers if he had enjoyed his holiday and would the said newspapers given prominence to the story, as it also seems this person is on a personal vendetta to tarnish Malta's reputation because of 1 stupid incident. is the spanish tourist correct or is she being unfair in condemning a whole country according to the attitude on 1 person? Anyway just sack the driver it will serve as a deterrent to the other bus cowboys there are so many of them. Seems like he also might need a stress management control. If it was me I'd keep the older generation only.

george caruana

Jul 13th 2010, 13:25

I guess nobody is surprised. In more civilized countries, this driver would face criminal charges and a civil suit, in a justice system that provides sufficient deterrent. Plenty other examples behold our society, like drink and driving. We are all anxious to read about the next victim of a drunken driver.

ALBERT FENECH

Jul 13th 2010, 13:25

As a Maltese citizen I cringe with embarrassment at this shameful incident. I trust that there are no "know all" experts (and they abound in these blogs, oh yes, by gum they do), who will write in and say "serves her right" and "if she doesn't like it here she should go somewhere else", or the classic "we don't need tourists because we're not second class citizens". What a shameful incident. Such an individual should never be allowed to participate in public transport ever again.

J Oatmon

Jul 13th 2010, 13:15

What on earth is a suspension going to do to this obviously violent nutter?
He needs his bus driver licence to be revoked and to be banned from ever driving a bus mini bus or taxi for life. Considering his actions, I also think a hefty fine also should be imposed.
I feel absolutely no sympathy for this kind of arrogant violent nutter - a lesson needs to be made here!

Jack Sparrow

Jul 13th 2010, 13:09

47c? Why not 50c? It would make life for commuters and bus drivers much simpler. You could then get a discount if you buy tickets in batches from machines and kiosks, as is done in developed countries.

Daniel Gordon

Jul 13th 2010, 13:05

A one off? Im afraid not. Its simply that most of the offended wish to get on with their holiday and put such disgusting incidents behind them.

Typical bully to pick on women tourists, If he had tried this with some of the "larger" Maltese chaps I know, he would need an ambulance and a dentist.

Why is he to be suspended? He should be sacked on the spot.
Its surely a difficult job driving an old banger around Maltas streets, but there is simply NO EXCUSE for this behaviour.

Maltas reputation goes down the drain again because of one persons actions.

Jurgen Rekkers

Jul 13th 2010, 13:00

I take the bus from Msida to Sliema everyday. It's pretty customary for the drivers NOT to give your change back. Annyoing and childish. I like to decide whether or not I want my change back, not the driver. This is only one of the minor things they do. Insulting tourists, speeding, smoking and texting while driving is an everyday occurence. These drivers are one of the big shames of Malta.