Sliema residents in the heart of the town were disappointed because two bus routes were changed to bypass the area where they lived, deputy mayor Cyrus Engerer said yesterday.

Some elderly residents... have been totally cut off

“Some elderly residents who depended on those routes to get to Mater Dei Hospital or other parts of Sliema have been totally cut off,” Mr Engerer said, adding that the local council had not been consulted over the decision.

Routes 22 and 32 will now go directly from San Ġwann to Gżira through Rue D’Argens and will no longer pass through central Sliema and the Ferries.

Mr Engerer said the routes replaced the old yellow bus number 60 and a Sliema circular bus that used to be provided by the local council. Since Arriva was awarded the public transport contract, he said, the council had to stop the circular route and residents in the area, mostly elderly people, were now stranded.

He said that when he asked Arriva why the routes had been changed he was told the decision was made because the buses were too wide to go through the narrow back streets of Sliema.

Mr Engerer said that had the council been consulted it would have proposed the introduction of smaller buses as was being done in Floriana and Valletta.

However, an Arriva spokesman denied that the width of the buses had anything to do with the decision to change the two routes.

“Routes 22 and 32 were diverted to serve Rue D’Argens reflecting significant demand from customers as well as the council and also to relieve traffic pressure on the Savoy area and Rudolph Street – by reducing the number of buses running through there – and also providing a direct service to this part of Gżira,” the spokesman said.

However, Mr Engerer insisted that the width was the main cause of the “traffic pressure” mentioned by Arriva and that the council was not consulted before the routes were changed.

The Arriva spokesman said that changing the path of the two routes removed six buses an hour from the Sliema Ferries. However, there were still 22 buses an hour serving the key interchange.

“Taking buses away from some people to satisfy a greater need is never popular but this area remains very well served,” the Arriva spokesman said.