Update 2 - Arriva apologises for Bendy Bus incident

Nanette Farrugia

Oct 31st 2012, 12:45

at least they appologised in public.........i was hit and injured whilst cycling last July, no apologies sent in any way, and every time i go to a court hearing, i get this strange voice telling me 'did i hit and injured the bus or the other way round........'. as far as i am concerned, nothing is being done to remove these huge unneccessary dangerous buses from our little island.........

PAUL BUSUTTIL

Oct 19th 2012, 12:27

APOLOGY NOT ACCEPTED ! before you remove these 3rd world buses from our roads and provide us with UK standard buses !

Ramon Casha

Oct 19th 2012, 06:58

I can't believe the number of people trying to justify this action. Trying to do a U turn with a bendy bus on anything smaller than a large runway is unjustifiable.

John Scerri

Oct 19th 2012, 06:55

It is recommended for bus drivers to perform a standard minimum number of hours driving on the same routes . In this manner the company will have multiskilled drivers who will in turn be capable of navigating various routes when required.Hence Flexibility.

A.f Ellul

Oct 19th 2012, 06:35

Bendy busses are not good and even are very dangerous ,they can split in two.We have paid quantity of money for the wrong busses.send them back.

Anthony A. Mifsud

Oct 19th 2012, 05:27

Arriva apologises for Bendy Bus incident, well this calls for a heavy fine, TM should instigate that and not just a pardon
what kind of business is TM running?
2. Bendy Buses should be scraped punto e basta, on two counts, streets and road not permitting 2 Exil wieght is far greater then normal recuancy so, damage to the curbs is being seen all over Malta...
Ninu

Jonathan Barnes

Oct 19th 2012, 02:35

So bendy buses have been operating for more than a year now, on many routes every day, yet only the odd accident is reported. Get a life and give the buses a bit of space, you would a large lorry,because you're scared,
So now respect the bus driver!

M. Attard

Oct 19th 2012, 02:15

Everyone seems to forgot the bad accidents that used to happen with the old buses where actually many lives were taken away and many people injured themselves and practically everyone inhaled large amount of carbon dioxide.

James Tyrrell

Oct 18th 2012, 23:44

Are Arriva saying here that the driver instead of taking the route he is supposed to take took a shortcut? Would that explain why people are waiting over an hour when busses are supposed to be along every twenty minutes or whatever, because the drivers are choosing their own routes?

Joseph Micallef

Oct 18th 2012, 23:32

.... and żmien il-bużullotti spiċċa... according to Agostino Pio Gatt. GonziPN, pleeeeease do the country a favour and leave!

Alfred Gatt

Oct 18th 2012, 23:02

I was on a bus (not a bendy) last week and its driver mistakenly took a wrong direction but was able to correct it because he had the facility to do it further down the road. These are mistakes which could happen very easily. I think these bus drivers have great stresses on them, one reason I presume is because there are not enough buses to cater for the routes. More buses are needed.

Paul Sammut

Oct 18th 2012, 22:13

Arriva Arriva and we never arrive and all the fuss that was made for nothing because we are back to where we started. if not worse unclean busses, no indicators, most drivers arrogant with passangers, they do not give way as if they own the roads,and the service over all is no good.

A Camilleri

Oct 18th 2012, 21:47

Bring back Donkeys and carts and take a slower pace of life, plus the veggies benifit as well.
Come to think of it we would probably get ewhere we want to go FASTER!

Brian Bonnici

Oct 18th 2012, 21:47

All the crap ends in Malta.
A new bus service by the means of use junk that nobody wants around.

Rita Wirth

Oct 18th 2012, 21:26

wonder what the real problem is - the busses or the drivers!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mario Vassallo

Oct 18th 2012, 21:02

"an ill-judged decision by an individual". "Arriva" thank you for apologising for the mistake of the driver. Most of us are aware that all your drivers are human and can make mistakes just like all of us drivers do. Come on maltese drivers lets be honest for once .... all of us someday have done an ill-judged decision without even apologising .. these drivers are drivers just like as we all are

Noel Abela

Oct 18th 2012, 20:54

No wonder David Cameron and Boris Johnson laughed their heads off. Full marks goes to Manuel Delia and Austin Gatt. This pudding gets better and better by the day. Shame on both of you.

James Dewar

Oct 18th 2012, 20:48

Raises questions about the level of training and competence of the driver and, worryingly, maybe many other Arriva drivers that are daily on Maltese roads in charge of these large vehicles.

Luciano Chetcuti

Oct 18th 2012, 20:42

Arriva
Stop apologising and pack up and start afresh with new buses which are suitable for this island, rather than huge bendy buses and nearly dilapidated vehicles.
We were better off with the older buses... only some of the drivers needed to be changed.

anthony borg

Oct 18th 2012, 20:40

I will accept apologise when the Bendy buses are removed from the MALTESE island...

Tyrone Camilleri

Oct 18th 2012, 20:37

Get these buses off Malta roads! What does it take for the Minister to realise their size is not suitable?? Do we need to have a tragic accident before somebody acknowledges these bendy buses were a mistake for Malta?? Come on! lets get real!

Raymond Micallef

Oct 18th 2012, 20:13

How many times do we have to accept apologies from Arriva? Do they have the proper mechanisms to operate in Malta? I have seen them abroad and none of these were happening. Why do we have to accept an inferior service? When will the Authorities take action, or this does not bother them, now that the changeover has been done!!! No one evaluates the service and ask for corrective action!!!!

mark borg

Oct 18th 2012, 20:13

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Philip Pryce

Oct 18th 2012, 20:02

Bendy buses are great. They hoover up lots of people and get the job done. The only real problem is that Malta only went half way towards a good solution. Introduce something like 'Oyster' cards that they use in London. They can be topped up automatically. Tourists could buy them at the airport or hotels and the buses wiould not have to wait for an eternity while the driver issues tickets.

Vince Agius

Oct 18th 2012, 20:00

Why on earth are two circus are coming over to Malta ???? Don't we have enough ???????

Charlie Grech

Oct 18th 2012, 19:59

Thank you Austin Gatt for getting rid of the "Bendy Busess" in the UK and bringing them to Malta. Does a very small country really need those long buses?

Mark Scicluna

Oct 18th 2012, 19:55

Apologies alone won't fix things, what we need is that these monsters are taken off our roads. If they weren't good for London, how could they be good for the tiniest island in Europe? Which highly intelligent consulent recommended these dinosaurs, got paid by the thousands, produced such a farce, yet no-one resigned, and not a cent was refunded?

Ms Jessica Spiteri

Oct 18th 2012, 19:54

Tajba Austin...tajba!

T Gauci

Oct 18th 2012, 19:44

Yeah blame the driver instead of the your "ill decision" to bring this crap here

Charles Micallef

Oct 18th 2012, 19:44

Arriva apologises for Bendy Bus incident
What again and again and again?

Wilfred Camilleri

Oct 18th 2012, 19:43

@ Lawrence Anastasi
It's probably true that this would not have happened with a regular bus. On the other hand it is also true that the bus should not have been making a U-Turn. STOP trying to blame Arriva. This was solely the bus dirver's bad judgement in attempting to make a U-Turn. Arriva was not a stupid move. Take off your partisan blinders!

B Testa

Oct 18th 2012, 19:38

Was this driver trained especially for a bendy bus?

Jay Oatmon

Oct 18th 2012, 19:16

An incompetent driver was the cause not the bendy bus.

Gordon Mifsud

Oct 18th 2012, 19:13

Things also get stuck in London it seems. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/news/9444065/Boris-Johnson-gets-stuck-on-zip-wire-carrying-two-Union-flags.html

Malcolm Bartolo

Oct 18th 2012, 18:56

in my opinion, bendy buses should not be operating in Malta.

M Tonna

Oct 18th 2012, 17:13

It does not take much to start mud slinging at Arriva and the bendy buses, everything and everyone got blamed including the Goverment, the Minister, etc.

But nobody guessed what happened, from just one quick glance at the photo it's quite easy to realise what happened! The driver took a wrong turning at the roundabout and got the brilliant idea to make a u-turn to get back from he came from!

Alan Xuereb

Oct 18th 2012, 14:47

We only know half of the story. Why did the bendy bus had to do a U-turn? Further down the road there was a round about. Did anything happened before that? What if it was one of those large water bowsers? Did the driver made it on purpose?

Gordon Cook

Oct 18th 2012, 14:19

@ James Dewar

Today, 12:46

@ Steven Smith: How did Malta manage before?

Did Malta manage before then? I don't recall any major changes in the daily chaos on the roads since Arriva came.

James Tyrrell

Oct 18th 2012, 14:10

Any halfwit could tell you that these bendy things are not suitable for Malta.

Mrs Maria Rosaria Brincat

Oct 18th 2012, 14:04

Dalghodu kont sejra lis sptar riekba fuq xarabank tal Arriva u kif gejna fil lilwa ta hdejn id Daycare kienet gejja karozza tal linja ohra min naha opposta, u biex stajna induru ahna il karozza l ohra kellha tiriversja. Dawn il karozzi huma wesghajn wisq ghat toroq ta malta. Veru li jekk tinzerta bil wieqfa u jkunu irridu jaddu min hdejk aktar ahjar, imma ghat toroq taghna huma wesghajn wisq.

Alex Buds

Oct 18th 2012, 13:39

Looks like driver error to me...

E. Azzopardi

Oct 18th 2012, 13:35

And somebody told us that it has a curve of 3 metres?

It is becoming very evident that this was a mistake and that the transport reform has not been the success we wanted it to be. Just notice all those cars going to Valletta, for example, with just the driver. Cars should not be allowed ANYWHWER near Valletta if they are not carrying the amount of persons stated on the log book. Period.

Raymond Micallef

Oct 18th 2012, 13:02

Uuuuuuuuuuu ejjjjjjjjjaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! not again with the bendy bus. So the London Mayor was correct in saying bendy bus are causing problems on the Maltese roads.

Mr Ernest Vella

Oct 18th 2012, 12:18

Imnalla bil-Bendy Buses...ghax almenu nidhku ftit...xi dwejjaq hawn f'dan il-pajjiz....waqt li haddiehor igerger ghax bla xoghol, ahna ngorru fuq is-servizz pubbliku li sar ahjar imma mhux kemm mistenni

Anthony Camilleri

Oct 18th 2012, 11:47

Only in Malta. Another piece of action from 007 film.
Well done.

marit pedersen

Oct 18th 2012, 11:45

I can not for the life of me understand why we do not use Double Decker Bus's her in Malta, it would solve half of all the problems the Bendy bus have. The Hop on Hop off bus do not seem to have any problems using them, so why not use there example.

Lawrence Fenech

Oct 18th 2012, 11:41

Viva Gatt, and Johnson laughting his head off for getting rid of the bendy buses, kanna minghand l'inglisi.

Mr Andrew Camilleri

Oct 18th 2012, 11:39

Not again and again and again! When is TM going to send these dinosaurs back where they came from? They are making our life miserable, causing chaos, jams and frustration galore.

M Farrugia

Oct 18th 2012, 11:26

Din it-triq hija wieghsa bizzejjed biex bendy bus mhux idur imma jkun hemm spazju bizzejjed biex jghaddu aktr karozzi min maghha. dan huwa kaz li min kien qieghed is-suq ma jafx ihaddem dawn il-karozzi u xejn aktar. Imma jidher i hawn min hlief jitfa ikrah fuq din il-kumpanija u dawn il-karozza ma jafx jaghmel. Il-karozzi u l-kumpanija ma ghandhomx vot u ghalhekk nikkritikaw lilhom.

Raymond Meli

Oct 18th 2012, 11:23

This is totally a drivers mistake. I would dare say he was required to change his rout to cover something some other driver had not been able to cover. I live in Australia and we have what are called B-doubles, which are trucks that are even longer than these buses. They cannot use minor roads. If Arriva had the same situation would they still have to supply transport

victor bonello

Oct 18th 2012, 11:15

Thank you so much Dr. Gatt and Mr. Delia for investing in an updated and flawless public transport. We are much in debt to you and your intelligent solution to the problem of Public transport.

Mark Fleri

Oct 18th 2012, 11:08

You can obtain all the titles under your name and qualification grades in life but when it comes to good old common sense you either have it or you don't.

Did it not occur to the government that the UK were already having problems with these buses before you signed a 10 year contract to bring them over here or was there something else to gain from bringing these buses over here.

A Caruana

Oct 18th 2012, 10:45

The big mistake made by Minister Austin Gatt was in signing a TEN YEAR CONTRACT with ARRIVA, now like it or not we are lumped with a shoddy service, unsuitable buses and lost routes in some areas. There should have been a 6 month trial period BEFORE the contract was signed, also some sort of alternative transport should have been left in place -- BIG MISTAKE to put all your eggs in one basket!

Mario Tabone

Oct 18th 2012, 10:43

Am I seeing things or are the drivers trying to get around the bendy-bus by taking their cars onto the pavement ?? If so it clearly shows the incompetence of Maltese drivers once again !!!!
Bendy buses would be no problem if used on the right routes and Arriva drivers would also be no problem if supervised properly. Drivers should drive the same bus so they are accountable for its keep .

Janet Bayes

Oct 18th 2012, 10:41

If the roads were clear of parked cars on bus routes these kind of incidents would not be happening.

Diane Borg

Oct 18th 2012, 10:23

Bendy buses are useless. The trip from the Airport to Cirkewwa is hell for example. We need a much better bus service.

George Joseph Cauchi

Oct 18th 2012, 10:22

The bendy bus is not designed to make such U-Turns in our narrow roads. Unfortunately many drivers do such U-Turns in similar roads causing danger to other drivers in order to skimp on fuel. The standard of driving is very low in this country and traffic police presence is lacking too which makes matters worse. It's very easy to blame your machinery when the fault lies with the Driver.

JR Apap

Oct 18th 2012, 10:18

Sorry folks from downunder i say Little Malta the old country has made a big BooBoo Boris got rid of them from Pommie land and Malta is now lumberd with these giants, it still time to revert to something smaller, even in Aus. we have smaller buses much easier to negotiate corners and are more frequent.

Saviour Sam Agius

Oct 18th 2012, 10:11

I don't think the driver was supposed to perform a U-turn as part of his route. That's the problem, not the bus. If he's taken a wrong turn he's supposed to drive all the way till the first roundabout and then go back to his route.

LOUIS ZAMMIT

Oct 18th 2012, 10:10

instead of complaining about ARRIVA or bendy buses we should all blame the DRIVERS ....did we forget about the old buses all the black exhaust ...bring back the old buses ...let see how many times you have to swallow all that bad air...we are a NATION OF COMPLAINTS i have really doubt when they say the Maltese are one of the happiest nation......

Franco Abela

Oct 18th 2012, 10:08

WHY ON EARTH IS HE TRYING TO MAKE A U TURN?

Mr John Borg

Oct 18th 2012, 10:03

Serves as a good device for police road blocks or to close of roads until works are performed. I say we should keep them as quick assembly barriers

Joseph Camilleri

Oct 18th 2012, 10:02

I dislike bendy buses but this driver needs to learn that u turns are not allowed. and there are other factors. As one commentor wisely said they can easily be used on busy routes like that of St Julians and other hot spots. They should not be used say valletta baħrija.

Pamela Hansen

Oct 18th 2012, 09:52

Beached whales indeed.

A Galea

Oct 18th 2012, 09:51

Bendy bus got stuck? Didn't realise they have a mind of their own!! Fire the driver for his incompetence. How can you attempt a U-turn in such a road with such a vehicle!! Could it be that rather than the bendy buses being the problem, it is some of the drivers?!

A Wood

Oct 18th 2012, 09:46

Well lets get this story straight, the bendy bus got stuck because of the driver, not because "its a bendy bus". Bendy buses are very handy, but only if they are used on the few main carriageways that malta has.

Joseph Borg

Oct 18th 2012, 09:45

With all respect, it's not the bendy bus that's the problem. Can someone explain why this driver performed a U-turn in this road? I don't think it's part of his route to perform such a thing. If he / she had followed the proper route, this would not have happened.

John Portelli

Oct 18th 2012, 09:40

That is utterly insane to have such vehicles on such small roads on an island like Malta.I no longer see them here in Perth Western Australia ,they were too big for our wide roads and you have them in tiny Malta?
INSANE.

Pippo de Marco

Oct 18th 2012, 09:37

It seems that someone used to travelling in prestigious German vehicles was so impressed to learn that Arriva would be bringing Mercedes Benz buses to Malta that he didn't hear the words 'Big and Bendy'

Who would have thought that a Hong Kong King Kong would be better than a Merc; not to mention a worn-out old Austin ?

John Dee

Oct 18th 2012, 09:36

The bus only does what the driver tells it to do.

Thanks to the inattention of one driver who set off before an elderly friend of mine had cleared the centre doors, he faces the amputation of a leg when he returns to the UK.

Welcome to Malta, John.

Steve M. Engerer

Oct 18th 2012, 09:30

How could a bendy bus driver ever imagine to manouver that bend???

Jay Oatmon

Oct 18th 2012, 09:29

My question is - is this the proper usual bus route, or did the driver take a short cut?

Alfie Lewis

Oct 18th 2012, 09:29

They might be called bendy buses, but they cannot make a 90 degree turn in such a narrow road, I ask the driver 'WHAT WERE YOU THINKINGING'

j brincat

Oct 18th 2012, 09:26

K Spiteri

"......... Without them Arriva would definitely raise the fares to cover the additional expenses to run extra buses on the same routes"

Where are you living?

Didn't Arriva already raise the fares? Should we pay a higher price if the bendy buses are removed from our roads. What HW did TM do? Were bendy buses on their cards?

(jb)

Ivan Visanich

Oct 18th 2012, 09:25

Nothing wrong with the bus some of u are saying .. Nothing wrong ?. What the heck was it doing ?.A U turn possibly ?.That stretch of road a few metres up isn't even wide enough for two cars let alone these monster buses .. Bendy buses may be good for some roads where there is enough space for them but for crying out loud the routes are so wrong and the drivers are equally worse ..

brian compton

Oct 18th 2012, 09:22

yes the bendy buses are a prob but dont you think its the routes they use .....

K Spiteri

Oct 18th 2012, 09:11

With all due respect. I don't blame the bendy buses like most of you are doing because someone is telling them to repeat after him. They are a good thing which saves lots of money to Arriva. Without them Arriva would definitely raise the fares to cover the additional expenses to run extra buses on the same routes.

Just blame the drivers who are driving them, thinking they are heroes!

M Busuttil

Oct 18th 2012, 08:57

The cars in the picture are parked correctly. It's the bus which is not correct for our roads!

If these buses are not good for London how can they be good for Malta.

MT Caruana

Oct 18th 2012, 08:56

Jien miniex nara yellow lines ma l-art!!

Jien nahseb il-probelma hi li dik dawra hija difficli ghal bendy bus biex iddur!!!

charles tabone

Oct 18th 2012, 08:52

Truly the mayor of London had said that Bendy Buses were dumped in Malta and the Hon Minister who asserted us thta "Zmieb il-Buzulltti spicca" has made us lump them. Now it's a complete charade. Good riddance for bendy buses.

Valerie Calleja

Oct 18th 2012, 08:49

I agree with Mr Oatman.Its the selfish,inconsiderate ,bad driving in Malta which causes problems.Parking on double lines.Have you driven down Dingli Street in Sliema ,where people park on the double yellow lines in front of the ATM Machine so that they do not have to walk, or in front of the grocers in the corner,regardless of the fact that they are causing the traffic to come to a stand still.

Jon Vercellono

Oct 18th 2012, 08:42

It looks like cars parked illegally. I hope that this is investigated as they hold up bus commuters all over the island; and also cause bottlenecks with other cars.

Mr C Galea

Oct 18th 2012, 08:41

sounds like the traffic wardens should be doing their job and start booking all these illegally parked cars .this idea of I MUST PARK OUTSIDE THE PLACE I AM VISITING OR WORK OR LIVE , is real prevalent in Malta and has to stop.

Pawlu Cauchi

Oct 18th 2012, 08:33

If the bendy bus is not good for London how in heaven's name can it be good for Malta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

leli farrugia

Oct 18th 2012, 08:07

Fejn qed tarahom in no parking signs Mr Oatmon ? il karozzi iparkjati sew jidrhu , nixtieq inkun naf kif gie f dik il pozizzjoni ?

Jay Oatmon

Oct 18th 2012, 07:51

As usual caused by cars parked at the owners convenience in no parking areas - nothing wrong with the bus.