The bus driver who allegedly held passengers “hostage” did not purposely lock the vehicle’s door but was in fact unable to open it due to a fault he had reported earlier in the day, according to the transport authorities.
Transport Malta and Malta Public Transport said the incident, which occurred on Wednesday on route 31 leaving Buġibba, was characterised by miscommunication between the Italian driver and British passenger John Kane.
“It was a situation which definitely could have been handled better and we apologise for the inconvenience caused,” Malta Public Transport CEO Konrad Pulé told Times of Malta.
“Following internal investigations, we would like to stress that the passengers were not kept hostage. The emergency exit was opened by the driver and no one attempted to disembark.”
On Thursday, Mr Kane told this newspaper the bus driver was speeding in excess of 80 kilometres per hour through the narrow streets of Buġibba and Qawra and texted and made calls on his mobile phone.
Mr Kane might have thought that the driver was purposely stalling and not opening the door
When Mr Kane attempted to disembark in Burmarrad, he said he told the driver he would be reporting him for the way he was driving and the driver “switched off the bus and locked the doors”.
Mr Pulé said the company examined system logs and interviewed the driver, other operational personnel involved in the incident and a passenger who was on board at the time. CCTV footage from four different cameras positioned on the bus was examined too.
At about 8.45am, the driver reported a fault on the passenger door, which was not opening when the button was pressed. The fault was attended to by station inspectors. When he got to the stage next to the National Aquarium, where Mr Kane was waiting, the door only opened following multiple attempts at pressing the button. In the meantime, the driver used his mobile phone to contact the control room to again report the persisting fault.
“Mr Kane might have thought that the driver was purposely stalling and not opening the door to fiddle with his mobile phone. In fact, the driver was contacting the control room to report the fault. The bus was stationary.”
The CCTV footage, Mr Pulé continued, showed what appeared to be some miscommunication between the two but Mr Kane was seen proceeding to a seat and the bus journey continued.
It was a situation which definitely could have been handled better
The bus’s tracking system showed that the highest speed the driver reached was 54 kilometres per hour.
When Mr Kane wanted to disembark at Burmarrad, the door once again would not open.
“Since Mr Kane mentioned that he would report the driver to the police, the driver decided to report the situation to the police himself. We have a different opinion of how the driver should have acted but the fact is he asked the control room to send the police. The driver told us he asked the passengers to remain on board to act as a witness. In the meantime, he opened the emergency exit and went outside. Mr Kane and the rest of the passengers did not attempt to disembark at any time. The rest of the passengers also appeared to be very calm. We will be holding a disciplinary hearing giving the opportunity to all involved parties to explain what happened.”
A passenger, who did not wish to be named, told this newspaper the driver did nothing wrong, adding that Mr Kane somewhat exaggerated the situation. He admitted he was not aware of a fault in the door.