I write to protest about the appalling conditions that those queuing for a bus ticket in Valletta must endure.

On Tuesday afternoon this week, I had to stand for 42 minutes in the blazing sun to buy a €21 Explore ticket.

There was no shelter from the sun although the queue, which was controlled by moveable barriers, could easily have been arranged to stand in the shade of the information kiosk.

There was absolutely no provision for the elderly or disabled that I could see.

Since Arriva took over the buses in 2011 it had been possible to buy a weekly ticket on the bus in addition to various ticketing venues. Why can the bus drivers not have some Explore tickets to sell to passengers who board the bus at points remote from the current sales points? These would be validated on the ticketing machine exactly as those bought at one of the official sales points.

The present situation cannot be considered one of the attractions of the Maltese islands and one wonders what impression this makes on the first-time visitor to a wonderful country, which I have been visiting regularly for 50 years.

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