We commuters from Mellieħa and those Gozitans who travel via Mellieħa have been offered an Arriva bus service that extends the already hectic route through Buġibba. It adds another urban traffic area to the five existing ones that the bus already passes through on the route to Valletta.

Unfortunately, this nightmare route from Mellieħa to Valletta will surely need another 20 minutes to complete – about one and a half hours either way.

I was really looking forward to the reform but I doubt the reason for this change as surely the commuters, including students, were not considered seriously.

It’s simply more mileage, more traffic and more time spent on the bus! Perhaps more sightseeing!

Arriva’s declaration that it will “not change anything in the first six months” comes across as rather insensitive.

One expected to be asked for feedback on the routes prior to the launching of this long-awaited reform.

What’s the benefit of having an organised service which seems to have made things more difficult and complicated for the commuter? One option would be to have one route that mainly serves tourists (the current route No. 645 goes through Buġibba via Valletta). I do hope that good sense will prevail.