Anyone catching a bus to Għar id-Dud in Sliema had better not hop off at the bus stop bearing the area’s name, or part of it, unless they feel like walking the distance of three more stops.
Against all logic, the bus stop named Dud (worms) is actually located near the landmark tower along the Sliema promenade, while the stop named Torri (tower) is two stops away.
Anyone familiar with the seaside town will immediately notice that the five bus stops along Tower Road have had their names mixed up.
A spokesman for the Transport Ministry said the authorities were aware that there were some problems and would fix them as soon as possible. Since the bus stop names were linked to timetables and onboard maps, however, changing the names was a laborious process that could take a few weeks.
In preparation for the new public transport system, to be operated by Arriva as from Sunday, bus stops around the island have all been given an individual name.
So, for example, the bus stop in Spinola, St Julians, bears the name of the area. Since a town or village has more than one bus stop, the naming is aimed at making the system clear to users of the new service.
However, in the case of the Sliema front, something appears to have gone awry. One would think that during the naming process names were picked out of a bag.
Commenting on website timesofmalta.com a reader wrote: “All the bus stops in Tower Road are in the wrong place. If they don’t arrange them quickly, there will be great confusion.”
While the Balluta stop is actually called Balluta, the area known as Fond Għadir, opposite the Gelateria Lungomare, has been named Chalet – a name that should replace the bus stop called Torri.
The stop at the bottom of Old College Street is called Exiles – that is actually the next stop towards Sliema. Instead, the actual Exiles stop has been named Għadir. So far the bus stop at Għar id-Dud has no name. People also criticised the naming system for not displaying the full name of the place so that, for example, Għar id-Dud has been abbreviated to Dud.
In a letter recently published in The Times, Mosta resident John Caruana remarked how the stop along Eucharistic Congress Road, a main road in his hometown, has been named Ewkaristija (Eucharist) – “a very holy and sacred word for these circumstances and totally out of place”.
The Transport Ministry spokesman pointed out that some 1,800 bus stops had been named.
The authorities had received reports of mistakes that could have been made at planning or installation stage.
“The mistakes will be rectified as soon as possible, but this cannot be done overnight since they are linked with timetables,” he said, adding it should take a few weeks.