Arriva came in for yet another tongue lashing yesterday evening as mayors from across Malta and Gozo ran up a list of complaints about public transport in their localities.

Representatives from over 25 local councils had a go at the beleaguered bus company, which has just been told by Transport Malta it had until the end of the month to pull up its socks.

The mayors’ meeting was summoned by the Local Councils Association, which yesterday said authorities had one month to sort out problems if they wanted to avoid being taken to court.

“We thought it prudent to not pressure Arriva until it had settled in and ironed out initial problems. But they’ve now been operating for a year-and-a-half and problems remain,” said LCA president Michael Cohen.

Complaints about Arriva’s service often mirrored each other, with several mayors saying routes were poorly designed, buses inefficient and their frequency inadequate.

But Arriva wasn’t the only entity in the mayoral dock: many mayors complained that Transport Malta often seemed indifferent to council complaints, not responding to letters and threatening to withdraw funds if councils did not comply with its requests.

Żebbuġ mayor Alfred Grixti said he felt “humiliated” that councils could not approach Arriva directly and instead had to go through Transport Malta.

He was damning in his assessment. “Arriva only care about the bottom line. They’re in it for the money,” he said.

St Paul’s Bay mayor Mario Salerno agreed. “They’re after profit, they don’t pay attention to the social impact of bus services,” he said. Mr Salerno also said he was “disgusted” by the filthy state of Qawra’s terminus.

Bendy buses were a particular bugbear for some councillors, with Marsascala mayor Mario Calleja saying they had repeatedly damaged roundabouts, pavements and other infrastructure.

It was a Marsascala council motion insisting that bendy buses were not suitable for the village core that pricked up the LCA’s ears and led to yesterday’s meeting.

“Two weeks’ training to drive a vehicle that big just isn’t enough,” Żurrieq mayor Ignatius Farrugia pointed out.

Siġġiewi mayor Carol Aquilina said problems were magnified by Arriva’s reluctance to engage with the public. “Residents have given up complaining, because they don’t think it will make a difference,” he said.

“Things go wrong, Arriva and Transport Malta do nothing and then we local councils are left to carry the can when residents complain,” said Paola mayor Dominic Grima.

There was one brief respite from the Arriva-bashing and that came from Santa Venera mayor Horace Anastasi.

“There were several problems when they first began operating but each and every one has been sorted out,” he said. “Things aren’t perfect but it seems to me the key problem seems to be some drivers’ attitudes.”