The “worsening” traffic situation is worrying and represents the biggest headache for the new bus service, Malta Public Transport Service chief, Felipe Cosmen, admits.
“The recent European Commission study has confirmed that traffic is getting worse and so we need to come up with measures like shuttle services, increased frequency during the rush hour and widespread use of electronic bus cards to shorten the time on bus stops,” he said.
According to the study, Maltese drivers lose more than six working days (52 hours) a year stuck in traffic.
Mr Cosmen was speaking to Times of Malta during a trip in Spain by the Maltese media as guests of Autobuses de Leon (Alsa) to tour their facilities. The Spanish company was awarded a 15-year concession to run the bus service following a call for expressions of interest last year.
Improvement will not happen overnight
Unlike previous operator Arriva, which quit less than three years into the contracted 10-year stint due to huge losses, the Spanish group has opted for a soft launch. Though the takeover started on January 8, the fully-fledged service will not be rolled out before summer.
The Cosmen family, which has been in the transport service industry for 13 generations, ventured into the national rail service, which is being privatised, in recent years.
The Maltese venture represents a drop in the ocean of the group’s annual turnover, which, in 2013, amounted to €2,142 million. However, Mr Cosmen noted that running a network with about 350 buses like that in Malta was still a significant operation.
“We believe this is a good business opportunity but the improvement will not happen overnight,” he cautioned. While pledging to have more buses on stand-by to cater for day-to-day problems, like accidents and road closures, which more often than not lead to schedule disruptions, he said that addressing the traffic problem would take more than a reserve fleet.
“Sending more buses would not necessarily be the best solution because these might also get stuck in traffic,” he argued.
“We are also looking to tweak the network, introduce bus lanes where possible and encourage electronic bus cards to save time at bus stops,” he said.
In fact, the company intends sending cards for free to each household. Commuters would then top them up and the credit purchased would not be restricted to a given time window.
“On the Valletta-Ċirkewwa route this could save commuters about 40 minutes if we manage to reduce the time at each stop by just a minute because they would simply board the bus without the need to pay,” he pointed out.
Apart from addressing the traffic situation, Mr Cosmen said the two other priorities would be driver training and the expansion of the bus fleet through an additional 142 nine-metre long vehicles, which will be delivered by October.
Though, in Spain, 70 per cent of its fleet is made up of Daimler vehicles – more commonly known as Mercedes – along with Scania and Volvo models, in Malta the company has opted for Turkish brand Autocar.
“Following the positive experience in southern Spain, where we have been using Autocar vehicles since 2011, we believe that these offer the required durability and manoeuvrability. The reason is that climatic conditions are very similar to those in Malta,” Mr Cosmen said.
Equipped with a Euro 6 engine, they are set to raise emission standards further, he added.
As for the Chinese King Long buses, some of which are in shambolic state in spite of having been on the road less than four years, the group is pledging to carry out regular servicing.
“These buses will be eventually replaced but regular servicing should ensure that they remain in good working order for years, regardless of how many hours they are in operation,” he said.
Though the contract signed with the Maltese government has not been published to date, Mr Cosmen said the maximum allowable age of buses would be 15 years.
“However, the overall average age of the fleet cannot exceed 11 years, meaning that the majority of vehicles will be much more modern,” he remarked.