Arriva has been fined €284,250 since November over shortcomings in its service, Transport Minister Austin Gatt said in Parliament.

Speaking in reply to a parliamentary question, Dr Gatt said the bus service had stabilised on most routes. However on some routes, a number of services were not being performed or were not being performed on time. As a result, a number of buses arrived at the same time at their destination and then passengers were kept waiting for the following buses. 

Dr Gatt said that since November, Transport Malta increased its monitoring of services and schedules, drivers and information services. 

They monitoring led to Arriva being fined €284,250 so far. The fines may be contested.   

Dr Gatt said the ICT system remained a challenge and a problem which had not yet been completely solved. While passengers were receiving real time information at interchanges and termini, and Transport Malta was in a better position to monitor the system in real time than in July 2011, the system was not functioning at the level laid down in the contract. The issue is being addressed. 

The minister said that route changes which will come into force when the summer schedule becomes operative next month should lead to a further reduction in the number of complaints by the people, although, obviously, not all suggestions could be taken up. 

The bus network was dynamic and Transport Malta and the Ministry would continue to analyse complaints and suggestions made by the public and local councils in order to make further improvements as necessary, the minister said.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.