Patrick Cooke
Bus driver sees red over one euro coin
Aside from rudeness, common complaints about bus drivers include speeding, smoking and talking on mobile phones while driving.
Red mist descended on a bus driver in Gżira yesterday when he refused to accept a €1 coin for two fares costing a total of 94c – eventually flinging the coin on the floor in anger and shouting obscenities.
The target of his anger was a middle-aged foreign woman and her son, who were left shocked and bewildered by his behaviour.
Witnessed by a journalist from The Sunday Times, the incident happened on a number 62 route bus to Valletta at around 9.05 a.m. on The Strand.
After passing on details of the incident to the Transport Ministry yesterday morning, including the vehicle registration number, The Sunday Times was informed that the driver was immediately suspended from duty.
The incident is the latest entry in a catalogue of complaints about bus drivers and comes 100 days before the reformed bus service is due to begin operations run by German-owned company Arriva.
The European woman sat down near the back of the bus as the son, who appeared to be in his early teens, tried to buy two 47c tickets. The driver told him he had no change and he would have to wait for the next bus.
Awkwardly, the son joined his mother at the back of the bus. After all the other passengers getting on had paid, the driver turned his attention to the pair and demanded to know if they had tickets.
At this point, the woman went to the front of the bus and calmly attempted to explain that they wanted to buy two tickets with a euro coin. In response, the bus driver started shouting at them to get off as he had no change, peppering his language with blasphemy.
The woman said she did not want change and he could keep the euro, but this would not appease the driver who was adamant they had to get off.
Tourists on the bus exchanged uneasy glances as some Maltese passengers tried to reason with the driver and even offered to pay the exact change, but he would still not accept it.
After a few uncomfortable minutes, he grabbed the euro coin from the woman and flung it to the floor before resuming the journey to Valletta at high speed, prompting more concerned expressions from the passengers.
The woman returned to her seat saying she would have no objection if a ticket inspector got onto the bus and wanted to inform the police that she did not have a ticket, as she had tried to pay.
Afterwards, the woman told The Sunday Times she thought the driver’s behaviour was shocking, but she did not wish to go on the record with her official account as she thought the driver was a “black sheep”. She lives in Malta and has never encountered such behaviour before. She also praised the Maltese passengers on the bus who came to her assistance.
Last year, a similar incident involving a Spanish tourist – who claimed a bus driver insulted her and tried to throw her off a bus when she asked for change from a euro – resulted in the tourist being offered a free holiday by the Malta Tourism Authority. The bus driver was tried for insulting behaviour but acquitted due to lack of evidence.
Aside from rudeness, common complaints about bus drivers include speeding, smoking and talking on mobile phones while driving.
A total of 405 current bus drivers agreed to work for Arriva and abide by certain conditions, which include training. Under the terms of the agreement reached between the government and Arriva, the drivers who chose to remain were guaranteed a 10-year contract.
A Transport Ministry spo-kesman said that under the new system, incidents such as the one yesterday would incur penalties for the operator levied by the regulator, Transport Malta. Each bus will be fitted with CCTV cameras which will assist investigations into such incidents.
Drivers found to have br-eached regulations will incur heavy penalties and penalty points, the accruement of which may result in the suspension or even the revocation of their driving permits.
In cases of serious offences, Transport Malta can take criminal proceedings against the driver.
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Carmel Vella
Mar 28th, 01:43
This sort of person should never be in front of tourists. The Maltese know well how to handle persons like this, but not the foreigners. I do hope he is fired, and his license revoked for a couple of years.
M. Bezzina
Jul 3rd 2011, 08:03
@J.Fenech
Tahseb li ser jinbidlu certu drivers???Mhux listess nies baqaw hafna minnhom?
Joe Fenech
Jul 2nd 2011, 09:40
THIS kind of very habitual behaviour is what brought the bus service to an end. SHAME to our spineless politicians whom allowed this to happen for decades !
Lee Roberts
Jun 24th 2011, 12:54
why do we put up with this kind of behaviour ? sack him and good riddens he doesnt deserve a job.would you employ somebody like that?
adrian galea
Mar 27th 2011, 22:15
Arriva: make sure story is correct, get his name and send him packing with his application form.
James A. Tyrrell
Mar 27th 2011, 19:37
@Mike Nash. Mike of course the 'new' Arriva regime will fall short on promise and delivery. The only thing changing is the busses after all, they will still have the same rude drivers behind the wheel!
James A. Tyrrell
Mar 27th 2011, 19:27
I fail to see why this man was simply suspended. He should have been sacked on the spot. What's the point of the MTA breaking their backs trying to attract visitors to Malta if one of the first people they meet, the local bus drivers treat them like dirt?
Darby Allen
Mar 27th 2011, 19:24
"Aside from rudeness, common complaints about bus drivers include speeding, smoking and talking on mobile phones while driving."
It can't be the passengers who complain about speeding - I've never yet seen a working speedo in a Maltese bus.
I wonder if Anita Vella has ever been to Spain; I lived there for a couple of years, and I know that Spanish drivers are courteous and generally law-abiding. They know how to handle their vehicles too, which cannot be said of their Maltese counterparts!
Mike Nash
Mar 27th 2011, 19:24
I have visited Malta on eleven occasions, and as a transport enthusiast have travelled very extensively on the existing network. Never once have I experienced such a situation. Sure, some drivers are less than communicative. But in my view they work absurdly long days, a lot of the time in searing heat, on poorly maintained roads, whilst dealing with other inconsiderate road users and bad parking, grappling with a plain ridiculous post-euro fare structure and just about every nationality of passenger.
I for one salute them. I would not want to do it, even though I enjoy driving buses.
Do be aware though, wonderful people of Malta, that the grass is always greener elsewhere. In fact, in comparison to most places, your system works pretty damn well, and with a little more tweaking and imagination could have worked so much better.
Unfortunately, it's now about to be swept away along with your island's proud and historic transport identity. Malta's character is soon to be irreparably eroded as the EU nonsense marches on.
Just be sure when the 'new' Arriva regime falls short on promise and delivery, that you make as much noise as possible. Because fall short it surely will!
Anthony Roberts
Mar 27th 2011, 18:03
It is obvious that whatever training is in force is just not working unless Arriva are going to start training on 3 July when it will be far too late. I was shouted at because I wanted to use the hospital bus from Paola to Birzebbugia as I wanted to get home and I was told to get off the bus. The bus was going to Birzebbugia - God alone knows what the driver's problem was - because I surely don't. I am English but I haved lived here for many years and I resent being spoken to in such a manner.
dfarrugia
Mar 27th 2011, 17:01
I bet that this driver will work for arriva in 99 days for sure. In the last months there where interviews or training for arriva bus drivers those buses that had stickers on them "bus not in service" forst the first time I saw buses observing the law and using the bus lane.
Sarah Camilleri
Mar 27th 2011, 16:48
Bus drivers on London buses (incidentally run by Arriva) are quite similar ... so it's not a problem which is only Maltese. They are stressed, loud and unpredictable.
In Malta, the problem is compounded by the system: if we had pre-paid travel cards, the drivers would be able to focus on driving instead of fumbling with small change.
Mario Bianchin
Mar 27th 2011, 16:19
Rules are rules...don't hate the players....hate the game. Give change where change is required. When Arriva comes on board hopefully they'll advance Malta into the modern age of public transport. In Vancouver, there are several forms of payments: 1) prepaid monthly passes (electronic); 2) prepaid discount fair tickets (electronic); and 3) 'exact' cash. Get this - drivers never touch the money! The system is more efficient....less time spent for drivers to give back change. It works....if the people of Malta want a more efficient system....then they have to do their part too! Play the game!
John Dee
Mar 27th 2011, 14:31
Good to see TM taking this opportunity to get rid of the pig-ignorant drivers and keep on the good ones (undoubtedly the majority). NOT!
Insisting on Maltese speakers effectively restricts all the applicants to the existing payroll.
Welcome to the TM world - the M doesn't stand for "mafia", does it?
When I was in my teens I used to drive like an absolute maniac, and luckily managed to survive it all, but found myself re-incarnated in a bus driver last week coming back from Valletta. Lord knows what he will be like in a new and more powerful vehicle.
antonia schembri
Mar 27th 2011, 13:57
the only thing that changes is the price... upwards of course. Duh!
james vella
Mar 27th 2011, 13:56
Arriva, arriva... but PROPER CUSTOMER SERVICE NON arrivera' MAI.
r. cutajar
Mar 27th 2011, 13:30
Attn;U - BET Malta- Would you start getting bets on the outcome of this one
Transport Malta, and others connected in their respctive offices' vicinities work collectively together so as to obstruct justice from taking place
Unfortunately and one must say tragically In many cases as many Maltese know full well that our courts tend to brush too quickly when it comes to protect the common victim of such abuses
He / She They are not V I P after all but commoners
Proper judicial procedures ? sorry dear Lady Justice but my foot your handling of certain cases
this country deserves better and when one thinks deeply that after all the country is( governed ) by the echelons of the well read and educated university of the country one really has to shudder at the results of many decisions in this tiny island
A bus full of evidence is lack of evidence ; who knows prehaps this time -the bus was not full to the brim with evidence
Pathetic defence team and more so the court for not digging deeper
donatella mangion
Mar 27th 2011, 14:04
Try to be the witness in a court case! I wouldn't dare. some of these drivers are completely nuts and would not think twice about taking revenge on you and your family.
Arriva: beware of lawsuits which could prove costly.
David Gatt
Mar 27th 2011, 13:18
Could it be he is still cheezed because we joined the Eurozone.....one wonders
M Mifsud
Mar 27th 2011, 13:10
Can someone from the authorities concerned please tell us if this driver is/was on the list of employees who will be transferred to the new company?
Victor Dimech
Mar 27th 2011, 12:40
ARRIVA ......ARRIVA.........and its still not summer.Wait till tempretures start going up.
Lawrence Bonello
Mar 27th 2011, 11:43
Roll on July!!!
C Cassar
Mar 27th 2011, 11:34
Why are Arriva even considering letting these people work for them? Now is the chance to get rid of these free loaders once and for all.
Brian Smith
Mar 27th 2011, 16:13
C Cassar not all the drivers are like what you said "Why are Arriva even considering letting these people work for them? Now is the chance to get rid of these free loaders once and for all." for one i always thought a freeloader was a person that did not work and wanted everything for free. Well these people work long hours to make the money they make. Not all the drivers are like the one in the story. i use public transport every day so i see what they face sometime for instance: The other day was waiting to get on the bus and the lady was argueing she gave the drive the exact money when she only gave him 70 cents of a fare that cost 1.16 now she fought with the driver she gave him 1.20 then after few min she said you are right i am sorry. so who wrong there
Claude Calleja
Mar 27th 2011, 10:49
It is good that the MTA tries to mitigate such damage when possible. However, this is quite uncommon in the rest of the world. Coincidently, such an episode happened to me when visiting Valencia last year. We had an excellent weekend there, however, when I was about to board the plane back to Malta, I spoke in Maltese to a friend of mine. Immediately, the boarding clerk started yelling at me for no apparent reason in Spanish. I obviously was flabbergasted by such abrupt actions as I had everything in check. Anyway, somehow this clerk calmed down when I started speaking in English and I finally boarded the plane, taking note of her ID number on her uniform. I shudder to think that this whole episode was due to my nationality or language!
I complained to the airline, the airport, the Valencia tourism council and finally the embassy here in Malta but got no apology from either of them, let alone a free holiday!
A word of advice
1 - our hospitality isn't so common around the world so we should take care of it.
2 - try to speak English when boarding a plane in Spain!
Maria Rosa Attard
Mar 27th 2011, 13:48
I had a very VERY similar experience at the same airport (Valencia) in 2009, when checking-in for my flight back to Malta. The ground host forgot to give me back my passport, and I asked for it in English - it was the only verbal communication with this man, and good Lord how he shouted at me for no apparent reason, except perhaps that I spoke English instead of Spanish like the other passengers.
I complained to the airline, which I will call here as "V", and no reply, and no apology even when I complained through the European Consumer Centre, except that I did eventually get an email that according to "V" this incident never happened. Go figure.
Thank goodness, the airline "V" no longer operates on the Malta-Valencia route, although they will operate from Malta to Barcelona and Madrid again this summer... and I will certianly not use them again, especially when there is cheaper competition.
I have been to Spain some 20 times, and I have never experienced any ruder behaviour than on this occasion. I do advice to people travelling to Jerez and Cadiz to beware of being short changed.
anita vella
Mar 27th 2011, 14:09
I do not understand the fuss about fewer Spaniards coming to Malta to wreak havoc... oops, sorry; I meant to "learn English", as they refer to this type of behaviours.
Surely, we should export these drivers to Spain where they may feel at home, and learn Spanish; and get more air routes, students and tourists from various other places.
A Micallef
Mar 27th 2011, 10:41
I have a feeling that nothing much will change due to one of the employment requirements being that EVERY driver has to speak Maltese. Whose idea was this? Any shortage of drivers will result in neanderthal man taking his place behind the wheel again. I would rather have a mix of decent Maltese drivers supplemented by other europeans, who between them could offer a range of languages. After all, half the passengers will be tourists.
Anne Harriot & fam.
Mar 27th 2011, 10:37
Malta is an good experience to visit ONCE, but as for their bus drivers they are the worst i had the misfortune to come across, so please Malta do not call us , we 'll call you maybe? i personally wouldn't advice to ride opn a Maltese bus beit old of new, cause its not the transport but the ignorant so and so that drives them let them down and their country.
J.Bonnici
Mar 27th 2011, 10:01
Only 99 days left now.
We should expect these incidents to escalate in the coming months.
Charles Micallef
Mar 27th 2011, 09:37
It would be interesting to see if he is one of the successful applicants with Arriva and if he is one hopes that his position is cancelled forthwith as drivers like him has been giving the commuters a rough time over many years. They will never change, new bus service or no new bus service!
K. Rizzo
Mar 27th 2011, 09:13
You feel it on the road that they are getting more and more frustrated lately...because THANKFULLY these primates are on their way OUT!!!
Joseph Galea
Mar 27th 2011, 11:49
I put half the blame on our local authorities for not giving them enough time to evolve.
A Vassallo
Mar 27th 2011, 14:45
LOL Joseph Galea !!! Not enough time to evolve. Thanks man, you made my day. So you calling them Neanderthals ... just like I do :-) Maybe we should grant them another 100,000 years to help them "evolve" LOL