London bid farewell to its last bendy bus last week even as Malta expands its fleet of the notoriously bulky vehicles.

Some 56 articulated buses will be in service here by the end of this week, with the number growing by 10 more in February.

While some commuters insist they are a “godsend” as they rarely leave people stranded on bus stops, they elicit a rather more angry reaction from drivers stuck behind one trying to negotiate a narrow bend.

Bendy buses can take up to 150 passengers. A spokesman for public transport operator Arriva defended the decision to bring them in, saying this formed one of the service requirements set by Transport Malta.

They are intended to meet the demand on the heavily patronised commuter and tourist routes. And, according to Arriva, articulated buses are no more prone to accidents than any other vehicle on the road.

“Accidents are expected in our business and we can report that the number compares well when seen in light of the number of the kilometres we operate on a daily basis,” the spokesman said.

The bendy buses were first introduced into the fleet following extensive research and trials. They had already proven to be an “invaluable asset” in improving mobility around the island, particularly in providing express services to and from the airport because of additional luggage capacity.

“They are a feature across most European countries,” he said.

Yet, as the complement of bendy buses grows in Malta, London has been all too happy to see the back of them after a decade servicing some 12 routes.

London mayor Boris Johnson described them as “cumbersome machines” which encouraged fare dodgers.

“We bid a final but not fond farewell to the bendy bus,” he said last week.

“These bulky and ungainly monstrosities were always more suitable for the wide open vistas of a Scandinavian airport than for London’s narrow streets and I am glad to see the back of them.”

In the past week British newspapers have been gleefully dishing the dirt on these vehicles and expressing sympathy that their transport woes had been shipped to the island.

However, the Transport Ministry has “no comments to make on the likes and dislikes of the mayor of London”.

Articulated buses, as well as other bendy vehicles, were commonly used on European roads with an infrastructure and size similar to that of Maltese roads, a spokesman said.

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