A reform that we can already feel

Despite the initial hiccups, we have finally started seeing something that we can really call “public transport reform”.

New buses. Buses of varying sizes for varying needs. Much less noisy. Certainly less polluting. Low floor for the elderly. Clean and air-conditioned, with an interior befitting a customer-oriented service. Courteous drivers, properly dressed and treating passengers as customers. Informing commuters about the next stop. New pricing incentivising frequent use. Cheaper tickets for daily commuters. The first-ever proper public transport in Gozo.

This all started on July 3. It was the reform called for in so many letters and articles penned over so many years and published with ever-increasing frequency in The Times and other papers. And, despite the teething troubles, the reform has begun.

Not without problems. I would be the last to say I was not disappointed in the first few days when so many commuters arrived late for work or for appointments. Teething troubles were only partly to blame. Drivers totalling 180, we now know, failed to turn up for work. Most were drivers from the old system and made many wonder what really lay behind their decision not to turn up.

Arriva underestimated the bitterness of the old bus drivers. The decision to employ any of them should be questioned. Had Arriva asked Maltese commuters whether they would like to see any of the old drivers in the new service, they would have certainly answered “no”.

Being British, Arriva presumed contracts would be respected by whoever signed them. It’s the least one can expect. They were evidently not familiar enough with the attitude of those who ran the old Maltese bus system. And this is why many commuters and people commenting on timesofmalta.com were saying “good riddance” to the sheer arrogance that bedevilled the old system when Arriva announced that none of the no-show drivers would be working for it in the future.

This also goes to show the difference in the model we now have. The old model was a motley crowd of more than 300 owners loosely associated in what was called the Public Transport Association, which really had no control over many of the owners and drivers. Successive administrations tried to change things. But every time, the ATP demanded increases in fares and they did increase but the negotiated improvements nearly always failed to materialise.

With the new model, there is a company with clear and effective structures that can, and does, respond. The company is contracted by Transport Malta to provide the service under very clearly defined parameters and conditions. When Minister Austin Gatt showed his disappointment after the first few days, the company came up with improvements and its British-based international chief executive visited Malta showing the mother company’s commitment to the success of the public transport reform, though managing expectations too.

Part of the problem was a failure of new technology. We were expecting clear electronic signage on the buses. Where it did work, it was a sign of radical change. When it was switched off to check the whole system, clearly printed route numbers appeared on the buses. One would expect it’s only a matter of time before the technical mishaps are solved.

We also saw improvement through the first week. By the end of the week, the service was approaching a level that is near acceptable, except in the morning when the company cannot immediately react to the number of drivers that fail to show up. This also goes to show that some new drivers have returned to the unemployment register rather than take up a long-term job with a company that has a 10-year contract. It’s a pity that the unemployment register seems more attractive to some than jobs that are available and for which they have been trained.

This is not to excuse Arriva in any way. They know they have to live up to the conditions of the contract they have entered into and they will bear penalties if they don’t. But it also attests to the fact that the public transport reform was a very complex process.

What we can certainly say is that it has finally started. And we can already see and feel the difference. After just a week, we certainly do not miss the noise of the old buses, their dirt, the buckets and brooms under the back seats, their belching of smoke, the rude and shabby drivers and their non-existent uniforms and manners.

Perfection wasn’t going to happen in a week. But the disappointment is perhaps a good sign in itself. It means that expectations of the reform are high. People did and still believe in public transport reform. Many who have not boarded a bus for decades were eagerly waiting to try the new buses. Their disappointment is not misplaced. With some patience, and the efforts Arriva has promised, they can soon board a bus frequently enough to make a difference in their lifestyle, on Malta’s roads and to the Exchequer in reduced subsidies.

And then we can truly say that what started on July 3 was the most complex reform and one of the most fundamental ever undertaken in Malta. Not without initial problems. Not on day one. But successfully after a reasonable running in. To make the real positive change we have demanded for so long.