So it looks like the whole bus debacle has become Malta’s pigeon, and Malta’s only. When one of the largest bus operators in Europe won’t touch you with a bargepole (or a bendy bus), things start looking pretty dire.

Maybe it was our fault; Arriva totally messed up, but the way they were given the boot was less than professional. And also there’s that small matter of “lack of openness” in the new bidding process.

Or maybe it wasn’t our fault because, you know, screw Arriva.

Whatever the cause, the probability of a permanently state-run public transport system keeps growing. More damning words than those of McGill’s CEO are yet to be uttered, and it’s likely that by now potential bidders have scarpered.

I’m not fond of the idea of having to lump it with a nationalised transport system. I’m not fond of the idea of having to lump it with a nationalised anything, to be honest, but needs must etc etc

We all knew what was wrong with the old transport system. Rude drivers. Rickety buses. Routes that didn’t take into consideration today’s lifestyle. So, the million-euro question that everyone is afraid to ask: will rude drivers, rickety buses and insufficient routes creep sneakily back on us once permanent nationalisation becomes real?

Given that the bidding process seems to have taken a chapter out of The Never-Ending Story, commuters need to see a solid structure in place pronto. Plans for a public transport system that is on a par with European standards can’t be kept in limbo forever.

Since the unceremonious booting of Arriva, the scenario has very much been a cautious “let’s make do with a temporary system until we re-privatise”. A number of routes were in fact actually reduced.

Because this was supposed to be a temporary situation, many kept their mouths shut. Give Transport Malta time to rally the troops, was the general sentiment.

More than a month later and with no end in sight, the question on everyone’s lips is whether commuters will have to put up with this ‘interim’ service forever.

To borrow a phrase from McGill, more openness would indeed be nice.

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