A bus stop on the way to Armier is still “out of service” as the summer schedule has yet to come into force.

The bus summer schedule comes into force on July 12 when the first batch of 40 new vehicles is expected to arrive, according to the operator.

“It would have been unrealistic to simply switch to summer timetables without adequate resources,” a Malta Public Transport spokesman said when replying to questions by Times of Malta on why the summer schedule had not been rolled out yet.

The bus service in tourist areas was suffering, with commuters facing long waiting times in the sweltering summer heat because not enough buses were being deployed to cater for the higher demand which the peak summer season brings with it.

Meanwhile, popular beaches like Armier and Ġnejna are not being served at all. A note displayed at bus stops on the way to these locations simply says they are “temporarily out of service” with no mention of when it will resume.

However, a transport authority spokesman said these would be fully served by July 12. He added that this year, the company had opted to introduce the summer schedule gradually, with the first changes being rolled out in Gozo on June 21. Last year, the full summer schedule was meant to come into force on June 23 but it was repeatedly delayed to the point that it never started.

This year, the company opted to introduce the summer schedule gradually, with the first changes being rolled out in Gozo on June 21

The transport watchdog blamed industrial action by the General Workers’ Union and the operator introduced a number of temporary routes and increased frequency on others to mitigate the situation, but not before mid-July.