Bus destroyed in Rabat plunge, no injuries

Mr Alex Phillips

May 13th 2011, 02:56

I remember catching that very same bus on my way to school......40 years ago!

Joe Fenech

May 12th 2011, 13:01

When is ARRIVA going to be there?

David Camilleri

May 12th 2011, 10:56

I live a few meters from this road - actually the name of this road is Vjal il-Haddiem. This road is in shambles with large potholes in it, dis-leveled and very dangerous to drive. The bus driver probably was going on excessive speed on this terrible road and with combination of an off-road street he meet his fate. I have sent numerous photos to Arriva telling them that this road has to be re-surfaced immediately if they want their route buses end up safely at the end of this major road. The Government is not keen to repair this road. There is no way to acquire votes in this area due to its tendencies. It has been almost 7 years since our entry within the EU and I admit that the majority of our roads are still below standards.

Mrs Krystle Micallef

May 12th 2011, 07:08

taqra l-kummenti iqabduk il-biki! fejn hi l-imhabba lejn il-proxxmu go dan il-pajjiz! flok nirringrazzjaw l-alla li hadd ma wegga noqodu nsemmu somma, viva l-arriva (barranin) etc. nahseb ix-xufier bi pjacir tieghu ha jitlef xahrejn xoghol! dawn ix-xufiera gew imhallsin mhux bhala kumpens bhalma hadu nies ta kunpaniji ohra ta imma hadu s-somma ta kemm xtraw it-truck u hawn min qas ha somma kollha!!!! kulhadd isemmi din is-somma, mhux il-poplu rieda riforma mela issa toqodux tgergru ax qedin thalsu!

Mr Zamfore Metro

May 11th 2011, 22:24

Haqqu...dawn tal linja kolla hekk dritta dejjem tahom u meta jistaw anka fuq l ahmar jibqaw adejjin.

Mr Joseph Stafrace

May 11th 2011, 15:28

Like others on this blog I noticed that the buses are not getting the periodical service that was stringently enforced. Bald tyres and squeaking brakes are becoming the norm; with no one batting an eyelid. Some of the buses are so run down that I doubt if the number plate corresponds with the actual bus! Transport Malta should carry out surprise inspections and if it results that the bus is not road worthy due to negligence; the compensation payment be forfeited.

Mr Carmen Borg

May 11th 2011, 14:54

Pajjiz tal-Mickey Mouse.

Transport Malta ghallxiex jeziztu??? Mela ma jezaminawhomx qabel ma dawn jigu irregistrati????

Mr Jean Pierre Fava

May 11th 2011, 13:07

I think this case should be investigated. The driver tought he was Keanu Reeves in SPEED!!

Mr David Galea

May 11th 2011, 12:40

If I am not mistaken all the buses belong to the people because the Government paid the owners a hefty price for them from the tax payer money.

Mr Joe Xuereb

May 11th 2011, 12:36

Some while ago I was going to Luqa Airport with my rucksack to catch a flight home. I put the luggage near me on the seat next to the driver's seat. He told me he had just painted something or other and TOLD ME TO PUT MY LUGGAGE on the floor. I told him this would get in the passengers' way, and dangerous. His response: 'The passangers are insured'. I could tell other stories but this one is enough. Only in Malta. Looking at the photograph, I should not be blamed for thinking this accident happened about 25miles out of Calcutta.
I get the feeling that the Maltese under constant stress that comes with inaction and insecurity are opting for making money their new god, cutting corners and it does not matter if it endangers life. All this energy spent on divorce or not is symptomatic of this - anything to distract from real issues. Quo Vadis Malta indeed!

Mr Andrew Grech

May 11th 2011, 12:03

The public tranport was never renowned for safety, a tin can on wheels with glass windows, which i doubt consisted of safety glass, would best describe it. During all these years they operated with such buses we were lucky enough not to have a tragedy since considering that a bus could be packed full of people, which is normally the case for busy routes, should an accident such as the above happen they would all die due to lack of engineering in the construction of the body to resist impact, check on the net and see whether you can find any similar damage on a public transport vehicle. The picture showing the squashed roof of the bus only proves this more. So when those who had once advocated to use public transport instead of one's own vehicle here's the answer why people hesitated, those old buses are a death trap and the authorities were always closing both eyes when it came to controls. Or else how could one explain the existance of such wrecks. Luckily the new public transport promises a safer fleet, i hope the authorities will keep it in check.

Mr Paul Caruana

May 11th 2011, 11:17

Frankly, the whole issue is rather disturbing. It is possible that those owners who know that their buses are about to be scrapped are not doing any maintenance work whatsoever, rendering them even less roadworthy than usual.

While the temptation at this stage would be to say "u iva, mhux dalwaqt nehilsu minnhom?", Transport Malta cannot allow the already meagre safety standards of these old buses to deteriorate further. Otherwise, passengers may die unneccessarily over the next two months or so.

If anything, TM should be increasing the testing of old buses for roadworthiness during this critical period......and let us not forget that these owners where paid handsomely to give up their bus licenses! They owe it to their clients, to keep their vehicles in roadworthy condition until the 3rd July, 2011.

Ms B Cassar

May 11th 2011, 11:07

Terminator - Rise of the Maltese Bus :)

Sarah Attard

May 11th 2011, 11:00

the revenge of the buses

R. Gauci

May 11th 2011, 10:53

Most of these buses will be scrapped in the coming months, this raises many eyebrows on the increasing amount of accidents involving buses lately.

Mr Adrian Cauchi

May 11th 2011, 10:43

I would like to ask for TM to investigate what happened and why did the bus not stop and stay in the road. Do the tyres have enough tread, are they expired, have they overdone their 70,000km mark/or their 6 years of service, are the brakes functioning well?

These are all answers that should be answered as if not it seems that the bus owners are trying to save as much money as possible so not to spend much for the coming 50 days.

Mr David Hill

May 11th 2011, 10:37

Is it the picture or is the front tyre bald, no tread?

Mr Chris Mifsud

May 11th 2011, 10:34

One down, more to go.

Anthony Cassar

May 11th 2011, 10:22

Is anyone else who uses busses just a tny bit concerned here? Will we get to know about the service history and read some sort of report regarding what failed here. I hope that we don't stop at (thank God) there were no injuries! There are countries who think that it is wise to look into incidents to learn lessons that will save lives.

Peter Gatt

May 11th 2011, 10:20

I understand this is 5m but seems pretty squashed. Would you not think that these buses have some sort of rollover bar?

Christian Micallef

May 11th 2011, 10:15

Just awesome, the state avoided extra expenses for the bus to be scrapped!

Victor Rodenas

May 11th 2011, 10:15

mamma mia,the roof was totally squashed,....luckily there were no passengers on board and the driver was agile enough to jump out.If it was full of people many would have died and many others injured.

Mr Matthew Abela

May 11th 2011, 10:12

Holy moly, this could have been bad. I guess another bus without brakes.

Ramon Casha

May 11th 2011, 10:10

ARRIIIVAA!!

Mr M Mamo

May 11th 2011, 10:07

Seems like Dingli and Rabat were automatically chosen to destroy all the buses w/o the need to scrap them :P and make way for the new Arriva ones ... this is like the 3rd accident involving buses this year in the area (following the one that fell into a field and the one that crashed in a parked van.

Also, yesterday there was an accident in Attard where a number 175 bumped into another car and an 810 that stopped working at the top of Saqqajja!

Mr J. Borg

May 11th 2011, 10:02

No GMOs please!