Arriva's buses - Never mind the width, see the quantity

Jean Paul Micallef

Oct 10th 2011, 23:59

Keep one bus larger and use another smaller, or GPS system alarming the driver approaching the corner.

Arriva you need engineers, trained problem solving minds for your problems and not iiiiiiiho iiiiiiho iiiiho iiiiihos

Mr Lawrence Fenech

Oct 4th 2011, 10:05

You are right Arriva, it's the streets of malta that are too narrow which were designed hundreds of years ago much before Arriva was invented

Mr Peter Korsten

Oct 3rd 2011, 19:39

It's interesting to read the 2011 commemorative edition of "Maltese buses of yesteryear", which they may still sell at post offices. Apart from all the old buses in their gorgeous old liveries, you also see quite a few interesting photos.

One of them shows a bus driving up St. Anthony Street in Attard, coming from the direction of Birkirkara, on its way to the terminus next to the church. Anyone who ever drives this road knows that it's rather narrow, and a one-way: these days, the bus would be going the wrong way. But there also weren't any pavements, and the bus was rather small.

But forget about that. There are also numerous maps in the booklet, and they clearly show that, in those days, all the villages were separate. In this day and time, Attard, Balzan and Lija are one big area, that seamlessly connects to Birkirkara. So, in the intervening half a century, the villages have been allowed to expand, without the government or local councils doing anything to prevent this. Anybody who lives in Attard knows what a nightmare it is every morning to get out of the village.

So who's to blame for that? Hard to say. And it's also not particularly relevant. But we're with a situation where everything is built chock-a-block full of houses, and things aren't getting any better. Little planning appears in evidence, to try to ameliorate the situation.

To put it bluntly: some houses will have to be pulled down to make way for thoroughfares. And that's easy to say if it's not your house. But you can complain about the number of cars, about insufficient public transport, or whatever else, but the basic problem of Malta is lack of proper planning in the past. If they manage to control traffic in a city with a much higher population density than the whole of Malta, it ought to be possible here as well.

Mr Joe Morana

Oct 3rd 2011, 19:08

One wonders who this Transport Malta spokesman is,,??!!
Somehow this reminds me of teh apparrent inept TM official I met at TM offices in Sa Maison in circa mid August , who up till now failed miserably to communicate to me an appropriate reply much less adeqaute solutions re the traffic problems at Rudolph Street -Mrrabat Street Sliema caused by the large Arriva buses deployed 'new and frequent' bus routes in this area .

To day's Transport Malta statement denying the inadequacy of the large Arriva Buses for 'local' traffic needs,
defies crude evdience and common sense which apparently is sorely lacking at Transport Malta and the Ministry concerned !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6DhYyWTqT4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQZgB3kCzm0


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=632TyuPX6Pg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEajBIJR7wAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn1z7wh3i2c


Facts speak louder than words.

l vella

Oct 3rd 2011, 17:14

This might be slightly out of topic, although it still concerns Arriva (another chapter in the ongoing farce).
This morning I had to go to rabat, so went to the bus stop at Blata l bajda (3 i think) and waited 45 mins to find a place on one of buses. When i asked the drivers, i was told that their instructions were to leave Valletta full.
Finally i got on a bus where the driver angrily took my 5 euro and almost slammed the change in my hand.
On the way back i went to the Medina bus stop a few minutes before 1300. There is no shelter of course, but there is a cute framed timetable showing that buses leave every 10 mins. I waited my 30 minutes ( when was the proclaimed date that buses will run on schedule ? 9/11 ? no cant be, my memory must be playing tricks.)
So finally i got on the bus. When i had boarded I noticed 2 tourists looking at those pretty printed routes on the sides of the bus, and shaking their head. I asked the driver if he could inform these lost people that he was going to Valletta.
I must have touched a raw nerve since the driver started shouting his head off. It was quite picturesque in maltese but i better refrain. Anyway his final words were that he was tired , so he closed the door and drove off.
On the bustop in Attard, the one before Incita (i apologise but am still a little bemused by the christiening of the bus stops) there were some people signalling the bus to stop, but that didnt daunt our heroic driver, he just drove on without even looking.
Yes, i must admit it was my lucky day; i drew the same driver both ways.
If anyone cares to listen it was BUS 124, around 11am from Blata and 1330 from Rabat.
At least give him a crash course in manners and courtesy.

Mr Victor vella

Oct 3rd 2011, 16:09

Arriva is still in a mess. Today I convince that Arriva is in a state of hopelessness and I never imagined that the bus and the driver that are their property of the brand had let the government to do something that is not its competency, but was under the direct vision and mission of the organization. The vision of Arriva is clear. Its objectives are the PN government objectives instead of the passengers who are paying dearly for a poor and lip service.

Chris Xuereb

Oct 3rd 2011, 15:06

The width is not the only issue here...The longer the vehicle is the more space it needs to manevoure which also leads to traffic jams.......... So the 2.55 meters is not the only issue!

Mr Carmel Farrugia

Oct 3rd 2011, 15:03

Has Transport Malta realised that some of these bottlenecks are created by the nonchalance of other drivers. Double parking, wrong parking at the bottom of Manwel Dimech Street on the Ferries side. Why is there never a warden when you need one. Buses should be given priority just like ambulances or police cars when in an emergency. Lately I saw an Arriva bus coming from San Gwann stuck near the Belmont Hotel as none of the cars from the Sliema side stopped to allow the bus to pass. Not even a police car. I had to stop myself to allow the bus to pass. Police should set an example.

John Fenech

Oct 3rd 2011, 14:29

The problems on roads similar to B’Kara/ Mrabat is the width of the bus the frequency and the parking of vehicles at the narrow sections of the road. The bus width is difficult to change, the parking can be tackled, and the frequency might be modified.

Removing the parking is a hot potato finding alternate places is almost impossible. Staggering the time of trips will not necessarily solve the problem, since commercial vehicles and route buses are prone to meet at the same junction.
Other solutions:

•The roads facing these problems, specifically the narrow stretch sections would be set as one-way

•Installation of traffic lights that may be interrupted by the drivers of the public/ emergency transport (route buses, ambulance, Fire engines or Police squad cars). The common junction traffic lights (fixed time holding pattern) will create tailbacks and traffic congestion.

The length of the bus is not detrimental it is the width that is creating the problem. So the question is if the old route buses dimensions were better suited for the local roads why did TM change, or accepted the proposal to change the formula?

Mr Victor Calleja

Oct 3rd 2011, 14:16

U is sur Delia fejn mar jistahba?

Reno Maurin

Oct 3rd 2011, 13:18

@Mr. Charles Caruana Carabeż
Ifully agree with your statement that bottleneck should be demoiished I have been saying this many times, besides those old empty houses are an eyesore.

Mr Henry Mifsud

Oct 3rd 2011, 13:14

Whoever the spokesperson for TM is, he is trying to insult people's intelligence. I have been constantly using Mrabat Street for the past 25 years and never was there such a chaotic situation. This is because whoever planned the routes made excessive use of this stretch. The King Long buses of the old system hardly passed through the said road. Something has to be done fast such as making the said Mrabat Street one way and find a different route. Also there is a big misconception about the Arriva buses being used. If I am correctly informed, only the majority of the King Long buses were brand new when the service started in July. The very long bendy buses were imported second hand after these had been in service abroad for over 7 years. Irrespective, these buses are not good for most of our roads and if it is not too late, should be replaced a.s.a.p. In any case, unless we intend to have an obsolete fleet of buses in a few years time, they would still have to be replaced shortly.

Noel Mifsud

Oct 3rd 2011, 12:39

JIsta xi hadd jirrispondini jekk hux veru il karozzi id doppji ma jsetawx jintuza l ingilterra u ghalhekk gabuhom Malta. Jekk veru ara ahna poplu nibilaw kollox ta ghax biex iduru ma roundabout iwahhlu skoss traffic qedin

Mr Paul Cassar

Oct 3rd 2011, 12:35

PROFESSIONAL PLANNING BY THIS GOVT IS JUST WISHFUL THINKING IN EVERYTHING AND ALWAYS.

AGAIN POOR MALTA.

Mr Peter Barbara

Oct 3rd 2011, 12:32

If they were smaller I'm sure people would still grumble because they cannot take on more passengers !
The truth of the matter is that even if these buses "are too big for our roads". there are thousands of large vehicles trundling around and causing all sorts of stoppages and breaking all the laws of the road, this not including the 'small' private cars that ignore most traffic regulations and are parked haphazardly all over the island.
Anyway you look at it, Malta still will remain one of the most overpopulated islands and with the most number of cars on the roads.
As regards the routes and timetables, more common sense should prevail, together with a strong dose of discipline on the roads

Claire Busuttil

Oct 3rd 2011, 12:28

Another nice one Transport Malta......komplu sejrin hekk!!!

Nicholas Sciberras

Oct 3rd 2011, 12:12

The same old buses used to pass from the same roads. The real problem isn't the size of the buses but the arriva company it self and adt as to get their special license the drivers need only to apply for the job with arrive and they will get the license in just about a week or a little bite more. Students are paying a thousand or more euros to get their normal license to get their car and the adt is giving all these special licenses to new bus drivers which are not really prepared to drive those vehicles which in fact is reflecting in how much accidents are being occurred and its being reflected too in how much late each route is being to get where its suppose to in the approximate time. Rarely we heard as much accidents as in these first 3 months happened with the arriva drivers than with the old buses drivers. In siggiewi from where the arriva pass is the same road from where the old buses used to pass. The old drivers never complained about it and passed from this road about 40 times a day and taking only about 3 mins from the entrance of siggiewi till the square. With arriva from the entrance till the square it was taking 10 mins in the first month and a half! with buses at the same size of the old buses not a bendy bus. Things changed only because probably the drivers that are working on siggiewi now they either are ex bus drivers in the old system or they just are able to drive a bus, but arriva doesn't really care if who's driving the buses is able to drive it well or not without taking care of having the responsibility too of passengers! The problem in siggiewi wasn't that the roads are tight but the problem was that arriva was sending drivers that shouldn't even be given the special license! In malta its better if we just don't do anything at all instead of trying to improve something which then we make it complitly works worse than that before even creating problems we never heard of before. I won't be surprised if this goverment will give the permision to arriva to start collapsing the buildings to build highways for them. I don't know what arriva meant to Austin Gatt and his friends but I think giving all these privileges to this company that has been here only for 3 months makes you think, because if the government is really there for the people and this shameful minister austin gatt is there for the service of the people arriva should have gone by now but obviously in malta strange things happens every time and what is obvious isn't done, things are always complicated because things aren't done as suppose by many parts especially those figure which are suppose to represent us.

Henry S. Pace

Oct 3rd 2011, 12:07

The authorities from TM fail to understand to rectify just a simple problem..Allow me to suggest that Traffic Lights should be installed at each end of this short bottleneck. This would bring the area as a one-way traffice at all times and the photo shown above would never be seen any more.

michelle agius

Oct 3rd 2011, 11:59

why not introduce some sort traffic lights in imrabat near belmont so one pass while other stop!!!! as i use bus to go to san gwann and back like alot of poeple who live in that area.

Mr Charles Caruana Carabez

Oct 3rd 2011, 11:56

Mrabat Street, especially where the 'hotel' lies should be bulldozed. It is simply a stupid eyesore, an ugly, decrepit anachronism that just erodes people's patience and wastes precious fuel and time. Full stop.

Peter Busuttil

Oct 3rd 2011, 11:34

After reading this article, I couldn't help myself laughing at the sheer stupidity of TM. Who needs circuses and clowns when we have this ongoing farce !

Mario Camilleri

Oct 3rd 2011, 11:33

As seen in the photo, there's not enough space between the bus and the residential door. So if a person at that instant rushes out through the door onto the pavement and is hit by a bus, isn't this of some concern?
An issue of the Arriva service is that the buses are huge rather than big for our roads especially the so called "bendy buses"

Mr Joseph E Briffa

Oct 3rd 2011, 11:24

This is alot of hullabaloo about nothing. I have been using Rudoiph and Mrabat streets for decades now and there were always heavy vehicles like trucks, mobile cranes, concrete mixers, buses; the lot. I cannot recollect one single traffic accident in those streets. The reason is most probably that traffic moves slowly in both streets. Except for rush hours, the traffic flows smoothly, and even in rush hours the flow is maintained except in very rare cases and despite parked cars and delivery vans and trucks in the 100m stretch proximal to Rudolph Street. The bit at the St Julian's end of Mrabat is considerably wider, and though the next 50m stretch by the Belmont hotel is really the constriction point, surprisingly the traffic moves quite smoothly as traffic from Sliema stops in the wider part of Mrabat to allow traffic from San Gwann to flow, and the same is done at the San Gwann end to allow traffic from Sliema to flow towards San Gwann. Car drivers are learning fast that it pays everyone to give right of way to buses and trucks. I have seen similar stretches in small towns in the Veneto region, they manage easily though the stretch is two way. We can continue to do the same in Mrabat and Rudolph as we have been doing successfully for the last five decades.

Anthony Mifsud Bonnici Giordani

Oct 3rd 2011, 11:23

I do not agree that these BIG busses are fit for every road in our villages. For example in Gharghur it is becoming a nightmare for small cars having two buses coming from opposite directions meeting in a narrow road such as Triq Santa Katarina. Sometimes four buses follow each other entering Gharghur. What a shame.

Mr Karl Ciarlo'

Oct 3rd 2011, 11:00

I think Mr Caruana's suggestion about traffic lights is the most feasible solution. Also, were the old King Long buses actually as wide as these. I have a feeling they were actually narrower.

Reuben D. Spiteri

Oct 3rd 2011, 10:58

In malta same problem all over. Arriva Malta... make it no way!

Mr M Mealclaff

Oct 3rd 2011, 10:53

It always me laugh when I see the words ' King Long ' on the buses .

' King long ' would make a great Title for a Porno Film .

Ramon Casha

Oct 3rd 2011, 10:43

This statement further illustrates the utter incompetence demonstrated by Transport Malta. The dimensions of the buses had to take into account the roads traversed, the bus stops at which they'd have to stop, etc. Hiding behind a piece of papers is not an excuse.

M Zammit

Oct 3rd 2011, 10:33

This photo was taken in Rudolph street in sliema,Close to the police station,NOT Mrabat!Both streets are facing the same problems !

Mr M camilleri

Oct 3rd 2011, 10:23

In rabat same problem ..Triq borg Olivier. make it one way

Anthony Pace

Oct 3rd 2011, 10:19

These buses are far too big for our roads.
Arriva have a number of smaller 9M buses that fit excellently on our narrow roads. They can come to a deal with King Long and exchange the larger buses and bendy ones for more of the smaller kind and get in double the number.
Although thay do not carry the same number of passengers we can then have increased frequency, direct route service as well as customer satisfaction in comfort, a/c, etc and speed in getting from A to B in the minimum possible time as before.
There will not be the kind of stuck in the road traffic chaos that happens trying to manouvre corners. The previous routes can then be utilised for villages such as Lija and Balzan and other old villages.
Even modern small cars are far too big for roads in Malta. We should just stick to the smaller cars and our roads might get less of a thumping.

V. Cauchi

Oct 3rd 2011, 10:18

Problem is that drivers sitting on a high seat and controlling a wide body vehicle think they are kings and queens of the road. Not Arriva buses only but also private family cars which have now become more of a char-a-banc than a light car.

Suffice it to say that the Mayor of Paris wants to ban all 4x4s and excessive c.c. cars from the Paris streets which for sure are much wider than ours. Sometimes it makes me really think what customs authorities and TM are there for if not to spend the day rubberstamping all kinds of import forms without any consideration to local road conditions.

V Cassar

Oct 3rd 2011, 10:16

Well maybe the old busses had the same width, but the only difference is that the old drivers didn't think twice before driving on the pavement (apart from the old drivers being very dexterious in driving). I'm sure the ministry does not wish for the same topsy turvyness to repeat itself in order to ease the traffic jams.

Alfred Caruana

Oct 3rd 2011, 10:16

The street in the photo is not Mrabat but Rudloph

Alex Falzon

Oct 3rd 2011, 10:04

One of the main problems in Mrabat Street is that cars are parked for their perusal to either buy groceries, confectionary or other just stop their car whilst their wife/husband does what needed to be doing. I urge wardens to start acting....

Mark Mangion

Oct 3rd 2011, 10:02

Mrabat Street solution.....use more frequent smaller buses - Arriva has some of those and they should get more

David Camilleri

Oct 3rd 2011, 09:53

Arriva saga - the mess continues.....

Mr Paul Caruana

Oct 3rd 2011, 09:52

A reasonable solution would be to install a system of traffic lights at the narrowest points of mrabat street, effectively rendering parts of it temporarily and successively one way in both directions. This should, once and for all, avoid the problems of two wide vehicles running into each other at the same time in the narrowest parts of this arterial road.

Although the topology of the road is totally different, traffic lights had solved a similar problem that used to occur at the sliema road/ rue d'argens junction, by allowing opposing traffic flow to happen successively, rather than simultaneously.

Mario Camilleri

Oct 3rd 2011, 09:51

Mrabat street solution.....................make it one way.

D. A . Agius

Oct 3rd 2011, 09:45

"Drivers update the company via the control room about hazards they encounter on routes and issues they might face in particular streets such as indiscriminate parking."

I hope they have the ability as well to report full buses and people left stranded, and that action can be taken to increase trips immediately.

Routes 41/11 are many times full up coming down from Mellieha, leaving Xemxija and St. Paul's Bay residents waiting...

Mark Galea

Oct 3rd 2011, 09:31

The problem of driving through such narrow streets is not only related to the buses but includes other large vehicles such as trucks, cranes, etc. These streets cannot be widened for obvious reasons, so it is high time that other measures are taken, suchas the use of traffic lights (to alternate the flow of traffic through these streets) or creating one-way systems. Otherwise the problem is just going to get worse.
By the way, i think the photo was taken in Rudolph Street and not Mrabat street

PAUL BUSUTTIL

Oct 3rd 2011, 09:23

'We have an established route risk assessment process which drivers have received training on and were given handbooks detailing risks for all routes,” the spokesman added.

Drivers update the company via the control room about hazards they encounter on routes and issues they might face in particular streets such as indiscriminate parking.

“We report such issues to Transport Malta and discuss potential solutions with them as appropriate,” the spokesman said.'

Do the buses have speed recorders for Arriva to check on the SPEEDING buses on our roads or is the spokesman blinded by his above statments????????

Maria Borg

Oct 3rd 2011, 09:23

The bus is driving on the footpath and the mirror of the bus is almost scratching the window on the right. I wonder what would happen if the owner of the house on the right, happen to open the window when that bus is passing by.

Mr Paul Borg

Oct 3rd 2011, 09:22

TM s way of solving problems> remove the parking spaces, remove all signs of shops,remove low hanging balconies, reduce pavements and make sure their are signs that give way to buses. Enjoy the new TM and the Arriva service

Mr Paul Micallef

Oct 3rd 2011, 09:20

They should make that street one way simple.

John Fenech

Oct 3rd 2011, 09:08

The problems on roads similar to B’Kara/ Mrabat is the width of the bus the frequency and the parking of vehicles at the narrow sections of the road. The bus width is difficult to change, the parking can be tackled, and frequency might be modified.

Removing the parking is a political issue if not at Valletta at the Local Council. Staggering the times will not necessarily solve the problem since commercial vehicles are prone to meet at the same junction with the route bus and the journey time is dependant on the volume of traffic on the route.

Other solutions:
•The roads experiencing these problems, specifically the narrow stretch would be set as one-way roads
•Installation of intelligent traffic lights that may be interrupted by the drivers of the public/ emergency transport (route buses, ambulance, Fire engines or Police squad cars). The common junction interconnected traffic lights (fixed time holding pattern) will create tailbacks and traffic congestion.

The length of the bus is not detrimental it is the width that is creating the problem. So the question is if the old route buses dimensions were better suited for the local roads why did TM change, or accepted the proposal to change the formula?

Mr Lawrence Mifsud

Oct 3rd 2011, 07:12

The last three sentences are very reassuring. Now let us see the results, please.