I don’t think I stand alone when I say that our transport system has reached a new low. The bar wasn’t set high before but now it’s resting on the floor and burrowing deeper each day.

Many citizens received their travel cards late in the second week of July although they registered in early May. A lot of the issued cards have no photo or name and, thus, will need replacing in the near future. Even topping up has become a major issue.

Like most, I was excited to see a paperless system and the introduction of bus cards. Finally, Malta had caught up with the rest of the world and would be using a new computerised system. My opinion quickly altered in the weeks after the changeover.

As a student with a part-time, minimum wage-paying job, the monthly €21 limit on tickets seemed ideal. I registered for my card in May and received it a week late in July. Not only did I receive it late but I got two cards, both with no name or photo.

Ignoring the fact that I had two cards, all worked well when I topped up one of them with €5.

Due to my card arriving late, however, I had already bought five tickets the week before and, thus, I headed to Valletta for my refund. I spent 45 minutes in the queue in the scorching sun at 11am on a Saturday. There was no shade as the outlet was foolishly situated near the bus terminus on the side with no roof.

Sweaty and thirsty, it was finally my turn. I handed the lady the tickets and she added €10 to my account. She told me about the €21 offer and I handed her another €11 in cash. After all that time in the sun, it never occurred to me to stick around and ask her explicitly for a receipt. In hindsight, this was a grave thing to forget.

Unfortunately, my card was not topped up and the next day I was stranded at St Paul’s Bay. After phoning customer care, I was informed that the system was being fixed and that my €21 were showing up somewhere but not in my balance. I even checked my balance and it had gone down to €1.

After a few days, since nothing had changed, I phoned again and the woman told me to go to Valletta to check my card. I decided to give it a try and, once again, saw the never-ending queue waiting in the heat.

Transport Malta clearly chose to ignore all the warnings broadcast on the radio about the dangers of the heat and the upcoming heatwave.

To make things worse, the queue was barely moving, so it seemed like it would take over an hour to get served.

I felt devastated as I heard a 70-year-old complain that this was her third time waiting in the queue due to her problematic card. I was surprised no one had collapsed from heat stroke or dehydration yet.

The transport system has reached a new low

I gave up waiting and phoned the company again asking if there was another outlet I could go to in order to sort things out. To my surprise, there is one at the airport and it is inside, air-conditioned and there are no queues!

Yet, customer care never mentions it until you ask about it yourself.

After two phone calls to the manager and more waiting, the man at the desk told me there was no proof that I had paid €21 and that the best he could do was a top-up of €5. All that time wasted and I was still deprived of €16.

Lesson learned: always pay with a card and ask for a receipt.

Moreover, when I went online to check my balance a few days later it hadn’t been updated since July 17. I needed to know if I had any credit left to catch the bus to work so I phoned customer care once more.

As usual, the representative told me the same thing: they are fixing the website and that he couldn’t check my balance himself. He also suggested that I should calculate how many journeys I took and deduct the amounts myself.

Apparently, they had already been fixing the website for three weeks. From the launch of the site, one could already see that the job was done in a rush and wasn’t ready for public use.

If the card situation wasn’t bad enough, the bus timing is certainly lacking.

Every time I catch a bus it arrives 20 minutes late and is packed with people.

On one of my latest journeys from St Paul’s Bay to the Pembroke Park-and-Ride at 6pm, three buses (number 12) passed and each was full. I was forced to take Bus 31 to Mater Dei Hospital, from where I caught the 202 to Pembroke.

However, due to the Sliema feast, after the bus went to Sliema it had to turn back again.

A journey that usually takes 20 minutes took two hours.

The bus stop offers no protection from the sun and some only consist of a pole with the bus numbers.

The air-conditioning on board the vehicles is either off and the people are drenched in sweat or they must endure a mini-Ice Age.

How is it that larger countries manage their public transport so well and, yet, our small island is incapable of sorting out this mess?

Michelle Falzon is a university student.