The overhaul of the public transport service is set for next year and not earlier, as promised by Arriva, Transport Minister Joe Mizzi said yesterday.
Asked about the Government’s plans to address the problems, Mr Mizzi acknowledged that five months after coming to power the service is still unacceptable.
He distanced himself from recent statements made by Arriva, in which it said the new system will come into force by November.
Last month, the Transport Minister said he will be commuting with Arriva to acquaint himself with the daily experience of thousands of people who rely on the bus service.
Asked by Times of Malta on the outcome of these surprise visits, the minister said the aim was not to grab the media headlines but to get first-hand experience.
“While on some occasions I was satisfied with the level of service, on a particular bus I saw a broken seat and obscene words scribbled on the interior.”
He added that a lot of complaints on the air conditioning system stem from the fact that passengers open the small side windows.
Foreign people at Arriva were oblivious to the Maltese mentality and tried to introduce work practices which may make sense abroad but not here
“I can personally vouch for this since the situation on one of the buses I was on immediately improved when I closed the side windows.”
Mr Mizzi praised the bus drivers, saying he was surprised by a well-mannered female driver “who drove efficiently and tried to stick to the schedule without taking any risks”.
He said that when visiting bus shelters he came across a lot of complaints that buses were running late and that routes had been changed.
“This is clear testament to the fact that complaints about the current level of service are fully justified,” said the Transport Minister. Part of this overhaul will also lead to changes at the helm of Arriva, with the top posts set to be occupied by Maltese people.
“Unfortunately the foreign people at the top of the company were oblivious to the Maltese mentality and tried to introduce work practices which may make sense abroad but not here,” said the Transport Minister.
Mr Mizzi said that by November, the review of routes being done in conjunction with local councils, Arriva and Transport Malta, will be completed.
“So far all stakeholders have agreed on the need to have more buses, and improve driver conditions,” he said. The next stage would be to determine how many extra buses will be needed on the new routes and the extra mileage. Mr Mizzi said this will come at a cost, as the contract stipulates that Arriva has to be paid extra in case of extending the routes and increasing its fleet of buses.
On the other hand, he said imposing fines will solve nothing, as it will not address the shortcomings which have damaged the service since its introduction in July 2011.
As for the notorious bendy buses, a frequent source of complaints from both passengers and pedestrians, he said they will be retained only on those routes where such large vehicles can be easily manoeuvred, to cater for the rush hour. He also laid emphasis on the fact that until now not a single euro has been spent on this review.
Mr Mizzi was speaking during a site visit to Melita Street in Valletta where paving had to be replaced after just one year, due to the poor quality of the slabs.
The Transport Minister also referred to plans to improve the traffic junction next to the Addolorata Cemetery, though he stressed no roundabouts are being planned.