A company was yesterday ordered to pay the transport authority almost €500,000 in connection with adverts on route buses.

In a lawsuit filed in 1999, the transport regulator had submitted that, in 1995, it had issued a call for tenders for the organisation and management of advertisements on buses. MPS Ltd had been awarded the contract in September of that same year.

The regulator pointed out that at the time the case was filed, the company owed it Lm211,650, equivalent to €493,046.82.

Rejecting the claims, the company insisted that it had made its bid on the basis that advertisements could be carried on both sides of the buses. Yet, this could only happen on 100 of the 508 buses that existed at the time. In addition, it added, many bus owners would not cooperate and, ultimately, only 112 buses actually carried advertisements.

Mr Justice Silvio Meli, sitting in the First Hall of the Civil Court, however concluded that once a contract had been signed, its terms had to be observed.

A company spokesman said they were surprised by the outcome of the judgment. He said the company had not been in a position to provide the service in question “and this through no fault of its own”.

“The company believes that it was factually and legally justified in its defence and feels aggrieved by the court’s decision. We are assessing the situation with our lawyers and shall decide on the next steps to take,” the spokesman added.