The Transport Ministry is being “very unprofessional” in its approach to releasing information on the bus service, Nationalist MP Toni Bezzina said.
He had lodged a parliamentary question asking the Transport Minister to state how much Malta Public Transport Services was spending on spare parts each week.
Malta Public Transport Services was set up by the government to temporarily run the bus network from January 1, after former operator Arriva agreed to terminate its 10-year contract following more than two years of service problems and heavy losses.
Transport Minister Joe Mizzi said in Parliament on Monday that an average of €80,544 had been spent on spare parts since the State assumed control of the bus service.
However, on Thursday the ministry released a revised answer, stating that €46,000 each week was the average.
The mistake was attributed to Transport Malta providing the wrong information.
“I asked this question because I have been noticing that a significant amount of fleet vehicles are being put aside for repairs on a regular basis, placing an added strain on the already challenging route network,” said Mr Bezzina, an architect.
“This could mean that buses are not being properly maintained or that what should be minor repairs are being left to develop into more serious problems and breakdowns,” he added.
The information the MP requested referred only to spare parts and not to other factors such as maintenance and engineering costs.
“It is pertinent to note that the [Arriva] Annual Report and Financial Statement covering the period up to the December 31, 2012, quotes the total expense related to repairs and maintenance as amounting to less than the revised figure of €46,000 per week. It is therefore strange that the cost for the purchase of spare parts has risen so drastically,” Mr Bezzina said.
“I call on the Transport Ministry to be more forthcoming in the provision of information related to maintenance expenses and to be more transparent in explaining why such expenses appear to have shot up. The Transport Ministry is being very unprofessional in its approach.”
Malta Public Transport Services is running a smaller fleet than Arriva, after it sold off 81 articulated buses it inherited from the previous operator.
The gaps in the service are being filled by 40 vehicles sub-contracted from the Unscheduled Bus Service, which is charging the State €35,472 per day. Arriva’s financial statement for 2012 shows that it spent €2,316,131 on “repairs and maintenance” that year, or €44,540 per week.
The Transport Ministry confirmed that the answer provided to the parliamentary question referred only to engineering parts, and excluded “labour costs, lubricants and tyres”.
The bus operator’s 2013 financial statement is still being compiled and audited.
The ministry claimed that €89,700 per week was spent on spare parts last year, but since the statement has not been published this figure could not be verified by The Sunday Times of Malta.