I cannot comment on the public bus service in the south of Malta but the service from the Qawra/Buġibba terminal can only be described as a sick joke.

There are no words to describe the awful bus service in Sliema. I have compared the new routes with the old ones published in Bartholomew’s Malta & Gozo Holiday map. Did the transportation experts who set the bus routes ever come to Malta? Did the Transportation Minister ever catch a bus?

There are too many things wrong with the current bus service to describe them here and most have been published in The Times.

The major problems are the routes and there are not enough buses during rush hour to major destinations. The bendy buses do not solve this problem and the passengers are crammed into them like cattle. Now some genius has closed the rear doors because a few cheats entered the vehicle without paying. Passengers are forced to push their way through a mass of people to try to exit from the front or in a case where it is not crowded, dash to the front before the vehicle starts moving. The old buses were dangerous and uncomfortable. There were excellent drivers but the drivers were often rude and dishevelled and should not have been allowed to ride a bike, much less drive a bus.

In spite of the old buses and problems, I never dreaded using them. Now with our new bus service I do not go anywhere on a bus unless absolutely necessary and with a feeling of gloom and doom.