The transport watchdog will investigate why two Arriva bendy buses caught fire within 24 hours.

Arriva, the public transport operator, insists all its buses are safe and said the police had not excluded arson.

In a statement, the Transport Ministry said it had instructed Transport Malta to appoint a commission of experts to look into the incidents and establish whether they were related.

The commission has been given a week to present its report.

The ministry said Arriva had already been informed that the Government would not hesitate to take any necessary decisions, even if it had to come down hard on the transport operator.

It held an urgent meeting with Arriva officials yesterday, in which it expressed its concern about the situation while demanding that the operator take immediate action.

Arriva said that preliminary investigations had shown the two incidents involving the bendy buses seemed to be unrelated.

The first incident happened in the early hours of Sunday when one was completely destroyed after it caught fire near the Maltapost head office in Marsa. Luckily there were no passengers on board and the driver managed to get off in time.

The second incident occurred on Sunday night when the back of another bendy bus caught fire on the way down the hill in Mellieħa. The 12 passengers were evacuated.

A less serious incident was reported on Sunday afternoon at Tal-Barrani, when a bus had to stop after smoke was seen billowing from its engine.

Arriva reassured the public that its buses were safe and that passenger safety remained its top priority.

“While visually the situations were certainly striking, the well-being and safety of our passengers and employees were never put at risk,” said a company spokesman.

He added that all of its buses underwent regular checks according to set criteria established by the regulator. Both buses which caught fire had regularly passed their annual VRT tests, as recently as last June.

Nevertheless the company would be carrying out an extraordinary check on all of its buses to leave no stone unturned, it said. It is “closely collaborating” with Transport Malta and the police, who have launched an inquiry.

In another development, the General Workers Union yesterday held an emergency meeting with Arriva representatives in the afternoon, seeking reassurances for its members and for the public.

Speaking to Times of Malta at the end of the meeting held at Arriva head office in Qormi, the GWU’s transport secretary Jeremy Camilleri said the union requested both the Occupational Health and Safety Authority and Transport Malta to carry out independent reviews to determine the safety levels of all bendy buses.

He added that the union was considering all options to ensure the safety of its members as well as of the public.

In 2004 the entire fleet of bendy buses in London had to be fitted with new fire suppression equipment and flame retardant interiors, following a number of similar incidents. Though a number of bendy buses currently in service in Malta have been brought from London, it is not known whether these are also fitted with such equipment

The questions Arriva did not answer

• How many buses (including bendy buses) is the Arriva fleet made up of?

• How many buses have broken down since the start of Arriva operations in Malta in July 2011?

• On how many occasions were passengers on board?

• How many incidents have been recorded of buses catching fire?

• Is Arriva aware of the cause of these fires and if not will it open an investigation?

• Are all bendy buses currently in operation the same ones previously used in London?

• Are the bendy buses fitted with fire suppression equipment and flame retardant interiors? (These were installed after three bendy buses caught fire in London in 2004)