Gone are the bus maps, gone are the attempts to try and figure out the schedules on the stop signs: the commuters on the Paola bus stop this morning, looked every inch resigned to the new bus system.
A week later after the start of the new bus service, people seem to have exhausted their complaints. Their expectations have been lowered considerably: they just want Arriva to arrive.
In Paola, the ticketing machine has been covered up with a cardboard box and the digital destination information sign is still not working. However, crucially. the waiting time seems to have been reduced – a bus to Valletta passed by after a mere five minute wait.
It was not, however, a turquoise Arriva bus, but a grey and red 'Arthur and John' coach. The driver tells the commuters that the trip is free: there are no ticketing machines on these subcontracted coaches.
Most commuters nod listlessly and proceed to take seat. It is a silent trip: not one commuter complains; everybody seems to be enjoying the crisp airconditioned air on the bus. We're in Valletta within 20 minutes.
In the city, feedback from commuters as they alight from the bus is not so discouraging. Unlike last week – when everybody was eager to vent their frustration on camera, this week, only few people seem to want to express their thoughts, with most saying that they felt the system was improving.
Several tell timesofmalta.com that they are still late for work, but only by a few minutes. Others praise the vehicles describing them as "fantastic", "beauties" and "a pleasure". The drivers also get their due praise: "The courtesy and the manners are incomparable with what we had before," said one commuter.
The South of Malta seems to be still hard hit, with people from Tarxien and Zabbar claiming waits longer than 45 minutes.
At the terminus in Valletta, only two out of the three ticketing machines are working. But the shade canopies have doubled, and many people were making use of the newly set-up benches.
There were still several Arriva assistants and drivers wearing their yellow jackets milling about, but unlike last week, they were not pounced upon by flustered and bewildered commuters. Most people were, instead, consulting the large bus information board, set up just by the waiting bays.
The sheer chaos seems to be abating, and the general feel is that many are hoping that it will soon be business as usual for buses.