As the sun rose on a bright new week, Arriva Malta woke up with high hopes for the day but commuters’ frustrations reached boiling point.
The company said yesterday morning that following a weekend of training and introduction of UK drivers, plus the temporary sub-contracting of certain feeder services, the majority of bus services were operating with just minor delays.
However, regular commuters complained that although bus frequency seemed to have increased, most of the buses were full up and bus drivers were rarely letting people on board the air-conditioned aquamarine buses.
Therefore, although journeys, like those from Rabat, Mtarfa and Dingli, which went straight to Valletta, were not taking long, people spent much longer on bus stops, waiting to get on board.
Commuters in Sliema and Qormi told The Times they had to leave home to catch a bus an hour earlier than they usually did.
Mater Dei Hospital students were also finding it impossible to get on the direct route buses and had opted to take the longer journey to Valletta, from where they would catch another bus towards their destination.
Some other routes have been lengthened to such an extent that travelling time is taking double the time.
People heading from Valletta to Attard, a journey which would have previously taken around 15 minutes, have to now travel to Mater Dei, from where they have to catch another bus towards Ta’ Qali.
Others, leaving from Birżebbuġa and Marsaxlokk, complained about the “extra trip” the bus was making towards the Marsa interchange, where it stopped for about five to 10 minutes until another driver took over to continue the journey towards Valletta.
“We never asked for these never-ending bus routes. All we wanted was one which would get us from home to work in the shortest time possible,” said a couple who had boarded the bus at 7.50 a.m. from Żejtun and were still on the bus at the Marsa park-and-ride at 8.55 a.m.
Several commuters said they wanted the “old routes back”.
A commuter from Buġibba said that while he used to reach Bulebel in Żejtun at 6.30 a.m., he now had to leave home earlier and walk further to reach the bus stop at Qawra and he did not make it to work before 7.30 a.m. He added he has decided to invest in a car.
Those departing from Ċirkewwa also have to spend an extra 15 minutes while the bus made its rounds in Buġibba and Qawra.
Former Transport Minister Ċensu Galea said people’s complaints about the previous bus system had not revolved around the routes. People had gotten used to the routes, he added.
“On the one hand, it’s obvious that it would take people some time to get used to a new system, such as this. On the other hand, one has to rethink some of the routes.”
He added it was not enough to say that a large number of people who left Ċirkewwa did not get off at Valletta, because even those passengers who got off at Mosta, Birkirkara and Msida had to go through the delay at the Qawra interchange.
The 15-minute trip from Buġibba to Golden Bay is now taking 30 minutes, as the bus stops at the Mellieħa interchange, he added.
“In all probability a number of routes have to be changed after a number of months… There should be a collection of more comprehensive data of commuting patterns, if this hadn’t taken place before,” he said.