Complaints on public transport received by the government have fallen drastically since the new operator took over, Transport Minister Joe Mizzi said yesterday.

“I can say that I have really noticed a change. The level of complaints that I receive on public transport have decreased by 90 per cent in recent weeks,” Mr Mizzi said.

He was giving an update on the recent introduction of the new public transport provider Autobuses de Leon.

Mr Mizzi said he used to be inundated with complaints and questioned whether some of these were being filed with ulterior motives.

I have really noticed a change

The Spanish firm took over the island’s public transport earlier this month in what was termed a “soft launch”.

Mr Mizzi acknowledged that not much had changed in the provision of the public transport service but he felt public perception had shifted towards being more favourable.

Mr Mizzi said the new routes would be up and running by July. Before that, however, there would be information campaigns to bring commuters up to speed with the new ticketing and routes system in March.

Several new routes will be introduced across the island as well as a pay-as-you-go card system, similar to the Oyster Card used in the UK.