We commuters have never had it so bad. Announcements on the radio claim that public transport has improved. However, facts prove otherwise and routes have been changed for the worse.

A case in point is bus number 61. The bus terminus was formerly in the centre of Żebbuġ and 99 per cent of the people had to wait 15 minutes for the bus. Now, it is at the far end of Żebbuġ where only one per cent and sometimes nobody takes the bus from there.

People now have to wait 45 minutes and sometimes an hour for the Valletta bus. Very often, if you are lucky to get on the bus, you stand together with 50 other people.

The Italian drivers who are being employed do not understand Maltese or English. Some of them do not know the routes and commuters have to guide them. At times they even ignore the bell to stop.

On Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, public transport was supposed to stop at noon. Instead, it stopped at 10am, at least on some routes.

Calls to the local council or Transport Authority airing complaints and asking for a better service are ignored.

So, to sum it all up, to the Malta Public Authority and the bus company, efficiency and discipline mean nothing at all.