The public transport reform may have started on the wrong foot but Transport Minister Austin Gatt’s vision remains a good one and it would be a pity to see him resign, Arriva plc chief executive David Martin believes.

“The minister has a vision for the public transport change on this island... There’s a public transport system to be proud of so... yes, I would actually be sorry (if Dr Gatt had to resign), not that I know him very well,” Mr Martin said during a press conference held to update the media about the progress made by Arriva.

He added that although the bus service had problems at the beginning there were several positive aspects to it – such as the low-emission vehicles and the range of ticketing options – that had brought Malta’s transport system into the 21st century.

“Everybody, as part of this, has made mistakes since it’s such a big and complicated project. We’ve certainly not been perfect. If you had to contemplate having a new service on an island with 185 drivers short, it’s what nightmares are made of,” he said referring to the driver no-show on Arriva’s first day of operation.

Mr Martin met Dr Gatt earlier yesterday to discuss the new public transport system, which Arriva started operating on July 3.

“We underestimated the amount of congestion on the island... and will be hounding Transport Malta to deliver more bus priority lanes to cope,” he said.

Mr Martin gave the example of Paola where the traffic in the square was so bad that it took a bus 20 minutes to get from one bus stop to another three minutes walk away.

Despite the problems faced by Arriva, he said, he was proud to say the company had pulled through and there were huge improvements even though there was still room for more.

Under the contract signed with Transport Malta, the plan was to revise the routes after six months of operation. But public opinion forced an earlier review that led to redesign or change of some 80 per cent of services, he said. The number of routes had been increased by 10 per cent, to 94. The complete set of new routes, which will link all villages to Valletta and Mater Dei, should be in place on Sunday.

This unexpected revision has put a strain on the company and it has had to bring in more buses, planning to increase the size of the fleet from 264 to 302 by next May.

More drivers had to be recruited. In July Arriva started off with less than 500 drivers and the final target was of 800.

Statistics released yesterday by the Transport Ministry showed that the number of people using the Arriva bus service increased to 3,213,433 in October from 2,971,587 the previous month. The figure also meant a 21 per cent rise in October over the same month last year.

Meanwhile, as the country prepares to welcome the improved routes, complaints about Arriva keep trickling in. The Paola local council said it would be filing a judicial protest against Arriva over the transport system and the Żejtun council has written to the Prime Minister complaining about the routes that service the locality. The Communist Party of Malta expressed its solidarity will all those facing difficulties to make use of public transport and said it would be joining today’s protest in Valletta being held to complain about the inefficient system.

What direction now?

Is the infrastructure in place to allow every village to have a direct link to Valletta and Mater Dei Hospital by Sunday?

• Arriva Malta managing director Keith Bastow believes all is in place. Network changes introduced a month ago already cater for most of these routes. This Sunday will see the rest of those being implemented, he said.

Transport Malta is to start fining Arriva for long waiting times. How will the company deal with this?

• The transport contact gives Arriva a four-month grace period on fines starting on the date of route introduction. This means that Sunday’s new routes can only be fined in four months’ time. Mr Martin said Arriva was “perfectly ready to pay any penalties for failings that are totally down to us. But at the end of the day there has to be a sensible dialogue in getting to that position”.

How will the buses get to their destination on time given the congested roads, especially in peak hours?

• Arriva Malta director Piers Marlow said Arriva was in negotiations with Transport Malta to increase the number of bus priority lanes. Some localities had been shortlisted and the option of dedicating the inside lanes to buses was being explored, but he could not reveal where these areas were. Mr Martin said Arriva was “hounding” Transport Malta to make these lanes available.

How much more in government subsidies, over and above the €4 million a year, will Arriva need to cover the cost of the changes?

• “We’re in discussion with Transport Malta in the context of the additional resources that need to be deployed. There will be an open dialogue over the coming weeks,” Mr Martin said. When asked to elaborate on this Mr Bastow added he could not divulge quantities saying: “I guess you’ll find out in due course.”

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