Arriva, which ran the bus service between July 2011 and last December, would not comment on a statement by Transport Minister Joe Mizzi that it had asked for a subsidy of €45 million to remain.

Mr Mizzi said that the subsidy the government would be giving the new bus operator – Autobuses Urbanos de Leon of Spain – would be lower than the €45 million Arriva had asked for. The new subsidy is expected to be higher than that granted to Arriva.

When Arriva was contacted about Mr Mizzi’s statement, it declined to comment, saying: “I am sure you will understand that our contract to provide services on Malta and Gozo ceased earlier this year and we have nothing to add on the statement we made at the time.”

In its statement last January, Arriva made no reference to any subsidy claims.

The Transport Ministry is insisting that the €45 million claim was made by Arriva during talks with the government in July 2013. Asked whether the request was made in writing, a ministry spokeswoman said it did, adding, however, that a copy could not be given to Times of Malta because “this was a confidential document which Arriva had submitted”.

Arriva had agreed to a maximum subsidy of €10 million a year. Originally, when Arriva started operations it had been given a subsidy of €6 million. However, following changes in routes, the government had agreed to raise it by €4 million.

Although the government has still to announce the new deal with the new operators, Mr Mizzi said the Spanish company would start with a subsidy of €23 million, which could rise after a year. The Sunday Times of Malta reported a few weeks ago that bus fares were also expected to increase in line with the deal struck between the government and the Spanish company.

When pressed on the issue, Mr Mizzi has never denied an increase in bus fares was possible but said he was making sure the service would remain “affordable”.

Mr Mizzi said the Spanish company is expected to take over the service at the start of next year. Currently, the service is being run by a government company, which, according to information given in Parliament, is registering about €3 million losses a month.