Negotiations with the preferred public transport bidder had not even started, Transport Minister Joe Mizzi said, denying reports that a government announcement was imminent.
On Wednesday, the General Workers’ Union’s daily, l-orizzont, quoted Mr Mizzi saying negotiations were in the final stages and that the wait for the name of the new bus operator was nearly over. But he retracted this yesterday.
Though no announcement was ever made by the government, Spanish company Autobuses de Leon was being tipped to be in pole position, following a call for expressions of interest, which closed on April 7.
Two Maltese companies – Gozo First and Island Buses Malta – had also bid to operate the service.
The call was made following the departure of Arriva, which opted to quit the 10-year contract prematurely after accumulating debts of up to €70 million in just two-and-a-half years.
Mr Mizzi yesterday distanced himself from the newspaper item and threw cold water on reports that an announcement would soon be made.
He said a lot of groundwork had been done since April, adding that all bids were thoroughly evaluated and the necessary “verifications” carried out.
This included meetings with the foreign bidder in Spain.
“We are now in a position to choose the preferred bidder, with whom we will then start negotiations on a number of issues, including the annual subsidy,” the minister said.
Mr Mizzi did not commit when asked whether the chosen bidder was the Spanish company. However, he noted that, in recent months, there had been a marked improvement in the level of service, with patronage levels rising.
Meanwhile, buses continue running on the winter schedule, even though August is just a week away, due to a dispute between Malta Public Transport Services and the GWU, which represents the majority of bus drivers.
Both sides have been at loggerheads since the beginning of last month over the summer schedule, which should have come into force on June 23.
We are now in a position to choose the bidder, then start negotiations
To mitigate the situation, the operator this month introduced measures such as routes to localities only served in the summer.
In addition, the frequency of buses in tourist areas was stepped up to meet the demand at this time of year.