Sarah Carabott caught up with transport authorities and Arriva to get their view on the situation.
Significant progress was noted in Fgura, Ħamrun High Street and Luqa during peak hours, especially since new routes had been introduced, according to the Transport Malta Controlling Unit.
However, the Żurrieq, Qrendi and Mqabba areas, behind the tunnel, had to be addressed.
Service from Mġarr and Għargħur was also boosted as alternate routes were added to the previous ones.
The unit spokesman said commuting from Guardamangia to Valletta had also registered improvement and it took passengers some 15 minutes to reach Castille from St Luke’s Hospital during peak hours on route 122.
Asked why the display screen on Mater Dei Express buses indicated buses went to the hospital but instead stopped outside University, a Transport Ministry spokesman said the bus stop between Mater Dei and the University was called Mater Dei, while that outside the hospital’s front entrance was called Sptar (hospital).
“The roundabout and the road entrance to Mater Dei simply cannot handle so many buses at the front door. To get an idea what we’re talking about, Valletta has some 200 buses an hour coming and going (considering both the unloading and boarding zones) so Mater Dei front door would have to be about half the size of the Valletta terminus to work,” he said.
Asked whether bus frequency decreased after noon, as crowds of commuters visibly increased on bus stops, an Arriva spokesman confirmed this happened to reflect the peak hours and off-peak hours.