Isle of Man politician sees Maltese support against bendy buses
An Isle of Man politician is seeing red over bendy buses.
The politician fighting the introduction of bendy buses in the Isle of Man believes he has the backing of the Maltese.
“I am pleased to see the residents of Malta have a sensible understanding of the foolish introduction of articulated buses. I only hope that they are not introduced on the Isle of Man as a result,” John Houghton said.
He made headlines last week when he urged members of the Isle of Man’s legislature not to become a laughing stock by introducing bendy buses like Malta.
When told of the response his comments generated among readers of timesofmalta.com, he said: “I wish the people of Malta well in their pursuit of common sense in the future.”
The Isle of Man intends to trial bendy buses. They were first trialled in 2009 but no decision was taken.
Full story in The Times.
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52 Comments
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vincent Lia
Jan 29th, 18:29
Bendy buses are a victim of politicians and are not being judged on their merit. Bendy buses are more accessible to older people and wheel chair users can carry many standing passengers safely, because they are low. Standing passengers on the other buses on the higher levels should not be allowed. The real reason they were taken out of service in London is because of fare dodging.
Peter Murray
Jan 29th, 19:22
Your last point is absolute nonsense and completely unfounded.
GL Calleja
Jan 29th, 18:17
Don't bother to ask the Maltese people regarding bendy buses. Ask Minister Austin Gatt and Transport Malta about those over sized bendy buses which cannot make a turn on our narrow roads. I suggest you inform your government that you cannot fit 5 litres of water in a 1 litre can. Do not make the same mistake Minister Austin Gatt did. Do your home work and make sure you look before you leap.
Jean-Michel Azzopardi
Jan 29th, 15:32
lol
Joseph Vella
Jan 29th, 14:34
Can I dare to say that I like these bendy buses, and have used them very often. Lately I went to England (not London) and they were every where. I also went to Italy, and you find them everywhere, even in historic centres
GL Calleja
Jan 29th, 18:21
Don't tell me you are comparing the roads in England and Italy with Maltese roads. Never mind I am sure you will figure it out. There is a time and a place for everything and Malta is not the place for Bendy Buses.
Robin Barman
Jan 29th, 21:29
@ GL Calleja,
not just the roads in England and Italy, but the driving standards also.
Albert Spiteri
Jan 30th, 13:02
@Joseph Vella - If you can dare riding a bendy anywhere you can dare saying it my friend. But that doesn't make you an expert on minimal creature comforts. If your spine can take it, so why not? Good luck to you.
Mr Kevin Zammit
Jan 29th, 14:05
They are a complete nuisance, period! They were a nuisance for London let alone Isle of Man and Malta
stephen mifsud
Jan 29th, 13:19
The old classics shouod have never been taken out they were perfect for our island and culture ... what the government did was with no thought at all to the impact on tourism and Maltese heritage which is shmameful in my opinion ...its like trading away Pastizzi to England and we get Pukka pies in return return some of the old ones back in some routes or use them for Malta"s tourist industry
A Farrugia
Jan 29th, 13:05
See Minister Fenech, we are not as you say " a cuc Malti ".
S. Cuschieri
Jan 29th, 16:58
i'm sure that's an out of context statement you're quoting!
Norman E Grech
Jan 29th, 12:46
I can't help but notice how over-populated we are in Malta!
We are ten times more populated than the Isle of Man!
Ivor Ramsden
Jan 29th, 13:51
Yes, and half the size! But there's nowhere better anywhere in the world than our two islands.
j brincat
Jan 29th, 12:32
Unfortunately they are still with us!
jb
Lin Li
Jan 29th, 12:03
Arriva bus, why does anyone even call it a "bus"? I had to use buses because my car is broken. Know what? Yesterday I waited for 40 minutes before a bus showed up whereas according to their schedule, there should be one every 10 minutes. Today, I spent almost one hour and a half at the bus stop for nothing! No announcement on their website, no one knows what happened!!!
Michael Camileri
Jan 29th, 12:02
Given the amount of tourists squashed on a bus, these bendys are needed. They are not that bad at all...
Many people here are missing the root cause for the complaints I see here.... Roads, roads, roads!
Buses fall apart, ROADS
Back aches, ROADS
Malta Transport need to make the roads worthy of driving on! To date, I have never seen a bendybus on fire.
Charles DeMicoli
Jan 29th, 12:37
The roads were there already. The buses chosen should have been the ones that fit the existing roads.
Joe Spiteri
Jan 29th, 14:27
@ Charles Demicoli. Are you serious? Nowhere will be found buses or cars that 'fit' our roads!
PAUL BUSUTTIL
Jan 29th, 15:06
Maybe not on fire but it is a daily occurance to see them broken down on the side of the road holding up traffic, THEY MUST GO !!!
S. Cuschieri
Jan 29th, 17:05
@ Paul Busuttil:
why do buses hold up traffic? most of the times if you look past 'arriva' you'll see private cars parked in the middle of the road - most of the traffic is caused by these people who think that the road is owned by them.
moreoever, the old buses used to break down as well - they weren't reported on the media as much as arriva buses .... who knows why??
Francis Sammut
Jan 29th, 11:33
Yes, go tell that to minister A. Gatt and his cohorts ( Mr. Manuel Delia and co.). It was bad enough getting rid of the old routes and introducing new ones in the mistaken notion that the servioce was to be better. Then we had to aggrevate it with these bendy buses. Those clever advisers (Dr. Sapiano please note) who pocketed 200,000 euros for giving bad advice should be ashamed of themselves!
Joseph Bartolo
Jan 29th, 11:25
I can only state what I saw within the last two weeks:
1. A bendy bus at the M'scala terminus bein towed away by a tow-truck.
2. Another bendy at M'scala passing in rfront of my house - the back was going up and down as if it was on soft springs - and the axle (one of them at least!) was emitting a horrible clanking noise.
Whoever negotiated the contract with Arriva for these buses is a LOSER!
Giovanni Carmelo aka John Carmel Navarro
Jan 29th, 11:10
The majority of Maltese would support John Houghton protest against the dreaded white elephants known as the Bendy Bus.
Neville Roberts
Jan 29th, 10:15
Bendy or otherwise, our Buses deteriorate so rapidly because of the disgusting state of the roads. Saying that, even after being pounded into the ground they are still better than most of the old crates that we had before. How quickly the people of this country forget ! Anything to moan at !
Peter Murray
Jan 29th, 10:22
Seems you are not backward in the moaning department mate-anything from the state of the roads to the old crates we used as buses before-as you state .Funny how moaning is always what other people do isn't it!
PAUL BUSUTTIL
Jan 29th, 10:03
I am pleased to see the residents of Malta have a sensible understanding of the foolish introduction of articulated buses.
I am afraid not everyone is of the same idea as many people in Malta suffer a Political sicknes and cant see through RED or BLUE !!!
Stephen Abela
Jan 29th, 09:57
These buses need a huge radius to turn. I supposed none has experienced a bus driving straight onto him / herself in the middle of a bend like at Mather dei or Mellieha. It happened to me twice (lucky with no consequences) and I assure you its not a pleasant experience. Let us leave politics alone and be responsible for once, these things are very dangerous.
Paul Caruana
Jan 29th, 09:52
Bendy buses are not the perfect solution to our roads, however I do believe that the criticism directed against them is overblown: overall, they are doing a good job, although there are routes, passing through narrow town roads, on which they should not be deployed.
Marco Galea
Jan 29th, 09:41
I use X3 from Rabat to Bugibba daily ... don't see what's all this fuss about
Albert Spiteri
Jan 29th, 10:34
My wife and I took a bendy from the terminus to Mater Dei. It went round Marsaskala picking up people and drove back to the bus terminus. That one mile drive in Marsaskala persuaded me to never again step on another bendy. It felt like sitting on the back of a reluctant mule. My back ached and my wife was dizzy. We got off right where we had first got on.
Peter Murray
Jan 29th, 11:36
Try a different route route Marco -and all the justified fuss will be revealed in living colour!
Byron Abela
Jan 29th, 09:26
I used the bendy bus myself from Valletta to Sliema. No complaints.
Looks like the Maltese like to complain.
Robert Agius
Jan 29th, 09:58
Of course you don't complain! Sliema/Valletta - where most tourists go. Maltese tend to be the second class citizens in their own land.
Vasilisa Brandenburg
Jan 29th, 10:29
@ Robert Agius
Comment totally out of the subject.
Terry COURTNADGE
Jan 29th, 10:32
Robert Aguis
' second class citizens' in whose opinion ? As a foreign tourist, not mine. Keep a thought at the back of your mind : My euros are as good as anybody elses'. (London philosophy).
Tony Borg Borg
Jan 29th, 14:23
Robert Agius mela il-karozzi ta' tas-Sliema-Valletta mhux bhall l-ohrajn?. Uza ftit sens siehbi.
Byron Abela
Jan 29th, 15:09
so you agree with bendy buses on the sliema route ?
Albert Spiteri
Jan 29th, 08:55
Bendy buses are not fit for our roads and streets. They're too big and do nothing to attract people towards using public transport. They're most uncomfortable and an absolute killer for the many who suffer from low back pain. The only people who wanted their introduction into Malta were that uselessly arrogant minister Austin Gatt and his equally arrogant henchman Manwel Delia.
L Zammit
Jan 29th, 10:39
That's envy all along. Your political bias is dreadful.
Albert Spiteri
Jan 29th, 11:01
@L. Zammit - Of course there's envy in me - envy for those who kicked out bendies and lumped them on Malta. Envy for the wisdom of those who won't even touch bendies with a pole 20 metres long. Political bias and a mountain load of arrogance is what curses the likes of Austin Gatt and people like you who insist on ignoring facts and persist in error. Your bias makes you blind and deaf .
Tony Borg Borg
Jan 29th, 14:25
Albert nahseb jekk jitla' Muscat isiru tajbin il-Bendy ghalik imbaghad.
L Zammit
Jan 29th, 15:00
If, God forbid, your party gains power, you will understand what I mean. As for the buses there are different opinions but I think those in favour of the change far outweigh the rest. You PL people are simply enthralled in stabbing their opposition, mercilessly if possible, never mind the the character assassination that has been the hallmark of the MLP for many many years.
joe galea
Jan 29th, 08:54
MI TAGEN GHAL JO NAR !!!
Ian Ellul
Jan 29th, 08:48
Another vote of confidence in GonziPN's brilliant (sic!) policies!!!
Anthony Borg
Jan 29th, 08:39
cont./.. and to add to the poor state the bendy buses are here in Malta,
* The lack of proper maintenance, with bits of the ceiling panels falling off and awful mechanical noises from underneath the buses!
* Ofcourse, I do not assume that the Isle of Man has such poor road conditions as ours - the Arriva fleet is falling into bits and pieces after only 18 months in service.
Peter Bonello
Jan 29th, 09:01
The fact is that the bendy buses are way too large for our roads. even a mid sized saloon feels enormous in Sliema but Arriva had the good sense of filling it up with bendy buses!! As for the rest of the Arriva fleet, they are mainly chinese-made King longs, which isnt another word for refinement and quality but rather cheap, made to break rubbish!!
Anthony Borg
Jan 29th, 08:35
I disagree - the problem with articulated buses is not in their use, but in their condition.
To begin with, they had many years of service in the UK and did not arrive here in pristine condition.
If the Mercedes Benz Citaro articulated buses were imported new (as in the case of the King Longs - NO comparison with the Mercedes buses!), then they would not have such a sad performance here in Malta.
John Benner
Jan 29th, 09:47
Mr Borg if you believe the condition of the bendy buses now in use in Malta is down to how they arrived in Malta from the UK you are in cuckoo land , in two years whether it be down to the roads or the drivers , those buses have literally been driven into the ground, and if you travel on buses its there to be seen .Apparently all the buses before arriving in Malta were completely overhauled .
Andrew Holland
Jan 29th, 13:23
The artics would have arrived in good condition from the UK, TfL imposes high standards on London bus operators and honestly if they were running around London in the condition they are currently are, Arriva would likely have been facing very stern action from TfL, the contracting authority.The only thing that has wreck them is Maltese-originated: your poor roads, maintainence and driving of them!
Anthony Borg
Jan 29th, 21:00
No, Mr.Benner, I live here and use the buses 2-4 times daily except on Sunday, so I know what I am saying. Although I am in agreement that the state of roads and the driving habits of many of Arriva's drivers leave much to be desired - nonetheless, the condition of the Mercedes buses were very evident from the start. "Apparently ....completely overhauled"? Tell me another one.
Mr Michael Adamek
Jan 29th, 08:15
We had these buses in Darwin. They were withdrawn after a year or so as they were unsuitable for our road conditions-and our roads here are wider than many in Malta. There were a few lucky misses due to the tendency of these vehicles to over run the footpath on corners. Quite a few scars remain on buildings these buses have had arguments with.
Please choose the reason of your report below: