I had never travelled on a bendy bus in London and am grateful for that. I have travelled on many in Malta and one of the problems is that little is done to maintain them. I have travelled in them with bits rattling and loose parts in a way that would never be permitted in London. Travelling in the back section on Maltese roads is equivalent to a visit to the Alton Towers Big Dipper!

Arriva strives to achieve an efficient bus service but is lumbered with too many traits exclusive to Malta.

In another country it would work so much better, but I suspect that Arriva Malta has inherited some problems from the previous systems, such as drivers’ attitudes and disgracefully inadequate roads, along with a lack of enthusiasm by the company to maintain a standard of service.

The standard of driving in Malta, including that of some bus drivers, is poor. Reporting incidents, as we all know, gets an acknowledgement from Arriva, but they are then unlikely to take any action because they never reply after the initial contact.

The Maltese will complain but nothing will change until some bad habits change. In England dog owners will clear up after their dog, but in Malta this rarely happens – just look at the front between Sliema and Gzira.

The disintegrating plastic bag drooping from the dog lead fools no-one! However, Maltese homes are spotless.

Arriva has the unenviable task of trying to run an efficient bus service despite so many obstacles. The bus service, in its current form, is poor, but I cannot foresee any major changes happening while so many things are working against it to achieve this.

Malta is a great place, and I’ll be back in February, but if only a few things could be sorted out, life on the island would be so much better.