The Spanish operator’s takeover of the public transport service was wrapped up in the early hours of yesterday morning, with the new operator agreeing to pay €8 million for the purchase.

Autobuses de Léon, has taken over operation of the Malta Public Transport Services, the State firm that bought out Arriva for €1 at the start of the year.

Spanish firm will have a soft launch on January 8

The Spanish firm will have a soft launch on January 8, rolling out services gradually over the next year.

The company will receive a €23 million subsidy for 2015, but that is expected to increase to €29 million in 2016 once the new operator implements its full network of routes.

The company will eventually introduce an additional 142 new buses to the island but said it will initially hire a number of existing vehicles to run the service.

In a statement, the company yesterday said it would be adding 3,000 seats to the network, resulting in a 20 per cent increase in capacity. It will also be recruiting additional drivers to handle what it hopes will be an increase in public transport use.

Transport Minister Joe Mizzi yesterday said the Spanish firm would be investing some €40 million in the takeover, adding that this would not be reflected in the fares, which will remain unchanged.

Autobuses de Léon director Felipe Cosmen said the firm’s bid for the contract was focused on improving customers’ experience and included a new fleet, new IT systems and improvements to terminals. The firm will also be bringing over bus simulators to train employees.

“I’m looking forward to working with existing colleagues and welcoming new staff and together delivering this vital contract to Malta,” he said, expressing his trust in the current staff to achieve customer loyalty.

Mr Cosmen said millions of passengers would benefit from thousands of extra seats, new services and affordable tickets.

A court had originally upheld a request by a bidding Maltese consortium to temporarily stop the transport authorities from entering intoany agreements with the Spanish company.

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