Żurrieq- and Qrendi-bound commuters will soon be able to spot their bus from a distance thanks to a sticker launched yesterday by Arriva for routes 71, 72 and 73.

The orange “livery”, as the operator termed it, carries the tagline Your 70s together with the image of a Neolithic temple and comes just a few weeks after Arriva made changes to the troubled routes following stern threats by Transport Malta.

Two buses already sport the new stickers, with a further five to be added in the beginning of January. The seven branded buses are half the 14 that service Luqa, Kirkop, Żurrieq, Mqabba and Qrendi on the three routes.

Leaving half the fleet unbranded allowed the company some flexibility if it needed to redeploy buses elsewhere, Arriva’s commercial director, Fabien Courtellmont, said.

He hoped to see buses on other routes similarly branded over the next few months.

“We hope to have new livery in place on various other routes by the end of summer,” he said, adding that route changes introduced at the beginning of the month were having a positive impact.

Transport Malta had threatened to step in and provide buses itself unless Arriva sorted out problems on the routes in question by the end of November.

Among other things, the bus company responded by doubling the frequency on route 73, which should now operate every 30 minutes, and ensuring route 71 was serviced by six buses an hour.

Żurrieq mayor Ignatius Farrugia said preliminary feedback from residents was positive, although he said it was too soon to pass definite judgement.

“After repeated pleas, Arriva heard our complaints and things seem to be moving in the right direction. Hopefully, things will keep improving,” he said.

Mr Farrugia was alone among his mayoral colleagues, with mayors from Kirkop, Mqabba, Qrendi and Luqa all no-shows. Luqa mayor Noel Galea said he had not been informed of the event but remarked that feedback from residents had been largely positive.

Qrendi mayor Carmelo Falzon said he had only received an invitation at the last minute. The changes seemed to have helped, he acknowledged, but problems remained.

“Anyone going to Junior College or Karin Grech Hospital still has no way of getting there. And access to Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra remains poor,” Mr Falzon said.