An Arriva bus driver is urging the public to “be patient” while expressing confidence that the new public transport service will improve.
“Be a bit more patient, please. Everything will settle down. It’s a new service, we’re doing our best,” driver Charlie Saliba said.
The Arriva bus service, which launched just over a month ago, got off to a nightmare start, after 180 drivers failed to turn up for work on the first day of service. The situation was worsened by technical problems that resulted in delays and chaos.
The company has since set September 11 as the target date by when it will provide a fully-fledged service. By then, Arriva hopes to have recruited and trained 240 new local drivers.
The no-show by 180 drivers, protesting against working split shifts, put a lot of stress on those drivers who, like Mr Saliba, turned up for duty.
“In my opinion it’s (the no-show) had a bad affect on everyone. On us drivers, the company, passengers... everybody. We had a situation where we had routes planned but no one to man them... Harry Potter had to solve that one,” the 48-year-driver joked with the comfort of hindsight.
Arriva managing director Keith Bastow recently confirmed that 120 of the no-show drivers were previously employed with the Public Transport Association and their contract had been terminated.
This attitude reinforced the negative public perception of “the old bus drivers”. Arriva now employs just 81 drivers who used to drive the old, yellow buses.
Mr Saliba said: “People got it into their heads that there are old drivers and new drivers. We’re all new. It’s a new company so, under the new company, we’re all new.”
In the presence of the Arriva public relations’ officer, Mr Saliba said despite clashes about rosters at the beginning of July, he decided to stay with the company because he always believed things would improve.
“I wanted to start something new. I like the job. I’m 100 per cent sure things are going to improve. So, I say, let’s wait... For me the job is a challenge. Meeting people every day, providing a service and doing your best,” said Mr Saliba, a former police officer.
He said he was happy with the salary, which was set to improve. Drivers’ conditions have already improved as, since Monday, a new roster – with very few split shifts – started being implemented following an agreement with the General Workers’ Union, which represents drivers.
Mr Saliba recounted how he had “butterflies” on his first day as a driver. He was not working on July 3 but, after hearing how the service was going, was nervous about reporting for work the next day,
“The first two or three hours were hard but then it was OK,” he said, adding that one of the hardest parts was dealing with disgruntled commuters.
“An angry old man pointed his wooden stick half an inch from my nose because he had been waiting for the bus for half an hour,” Mr Saliba said, adding: “Of course, you can’t put everybody in the same basket. Some people appreciated the service but some criticised it.”
Commuters also complained bitterly about the new routes. The inefficiency of routes also spurred lawyer and former Labour Justice Minister Joseph Brincat to file a judicial protest holding Arriva responsible for wasted time.
The routes, plotted by Transport Malta, were originally meant to be revised six months after the new service began. But, following an agreement between Arriva and the authority, this was pushed forward and new revised routes started being implemented a week ago.