Gozo to have a bus service 'revolution'

The introduction of the new Arriva bus service on July 3 will be a 'revolution' in Gozo, where the current bus service is practically non-existent, Transport Minister Austin Gatt said today.

He made his comments as he visited the new-look Victoria bus terminus, one of three interchanges in Gozo, the others being at Mgarr and Marsalforn.

The Victoria terminus rehabilitation cost €400,000.  The government will subsidise the Gozo bus service to the tune of €1.4 million per year, the first time that such a subsidy is being given.

The buses will, for the first time, link all the villages of Gozo, Dr Gatt said. Services will run every hour, with the Victoria-Mgarr service every 30 minutes.

Arriva officials said the service will be provided by 12 buses including two large articulating vehicles. Two buses will be nine metres long, six will be 12-metres long and two will be hybrid models. They will serve 10 routes.

Residents of Gozo will be able to buy 30-day tickets for use just in Gozo for €10.

Dr Gatt revealed in reply to a parliamentary question three years ago that the oldest bus in Malta and Gozo was still serving the routes in Gozo. It entered service in 1928. There are currently 79 buses in Gozo but only 10 are in service at any one time. The others are used for private trips.