Bus commuters – especially those travelling through Msida and Tal-Qroqq – are still calling on the transport authorities to reverse the latest route changes.

Passengers who yesterday spoke to this newspaper at the Valletta bus terminus gave mixed feedback about the route tweaking in December. Some said the service is now reaching areas which it previously did not, while others complained that it was backfiring, as trips took longer.

Many, however, urged a reversal of the changes. Two students aged 19 from Birżebbuġa noted that it was taking them longer to reach the university because there were fewer buses going there from Valletta. Meanwhile, the direct link from their locality to the university had been made longer, as it was now also going through Qajjenza and Ħamrun.

The two students, Deborah Francalanza and Ann Marie Grima, spoke to this newspaper ahead of an exam at 2.30pm; they had left home at 11am to be sure they made it on time. Ms Grima also spoke of bus congestion just outside the university. Following the latest changes, the bus interchange for Mater Dei Hospital routes was moved to the university in a bid to reduce congestion in front of the hospital. However, this only seemed to have shifted the problem to the university.

Other commuters noted that they had got used to the routes as they were before the changes in December and it would have been better if they had remained.

Mary Seychell, who commutes from Gudja to Mrabat in Sliema for work complained of the axing of direct links to the hospital and the airport. “Reverse the changes and reintroduce the routes and frequencies that were in place before December,” she said, urging respect for elderly commuters.

Meanwhile, most of the elderly passengers complained about bus bays being transferred further down into St James Ditch. However, this move actually reduced the overcrowding at the bays as it has spread out buses and commuters over a larger area.

Others, meanwhile, complained of the drivers’ attitude.

Nina Debattista, who used the bus to Mater Dei twice this week, said the service was much better now, as bus 206 also served the housing estate in Żejtun, while the 84 was now linking commuters to the Paola health centre. However, the 54-year-old complained of a bus that did not stop for her at Mater Dei when she signalled to the driver on her way back home.

Another man, Muataz Mansour, 27, who commutes two or three times daily, noted that while he had met some good drivers, others were “disrespectful”. “I’m not Maltese but I’ve lived here for months, and while Malta is a very nice country, foreigners are not treated well by drivers,” he said, adding that he has witnessed non-Maltese offering a €10 note to pay for a ticket and being pushed away.

Complaints by San Ġwann residents, meanwhile, remained rife, with commuters complaining of a depleted service.

This was acknowledged in a statement by the Transport Ministry on Wednesday, when it said that a meeting was being held with the local council to identify the best way to improve accessibility to the locality. The ministry said the changes to the bus network, as well as complaints and suggestions made in the past two weeks, were discussed by Minister Joe Mizzi, Transport Malta chairman James Piscopo and officials from the bus company.

It was noted that a considerable number of routes had been lengthened to include St Luke’s Hospital and improve accessibility for Junior College students, and that these alterations would remain in force.

Meanwhile, the reintroduction of the bus link between the X1 route and Mater Dei was being considered.

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