Being an Irish woman in my early 20s, I have never experienced racism and discrimination when I have travelled, let alone in Malta, until now. I am a partial-resident, my family owns property in Siġġiewi and as a result, I have been coming to Malta frequently during the year since I was a child. I have always felt welcomed by the Maltese and have come to view Malta as my second home after Dublin.

At 4.20 p.m. on Tuesday I boarded the number 12 bus at Spinola Bay, St Julians, with a Maltese friend of mine. The bus driver first asked where it was that I was going, to which I answered Gżira, to my surprise the driver then asked if I had an ID card to prove I was Maltese.

Confused, I told the driver I wasn’t Maltese and as a result he told me that for a one-way ticket from St Julians to Gżira I had to pay €2.20 as opposed to the €1.50 day ticket my Maltese friend was given when she said yes she had an ID card. As if it wasn’t bad enough that the ignorant driver was rudely causing a scene, I ended up paying 30 cents extra because he was unable to count out the change I had given him, accusing me of paying less when really, he couldn’t add up a simple fare.

Not only was this experience humiliating – being made a show of by the hostile bus driver – but more importantly I felt discriminated against.

Because I am not a Maltese citizen I have to pay more to use public transport as if I am not an equal.

Why, because I’m foreign, is it acceptable to treat me as if I am alien and as an outsider.

This is not only a blatant case of racism but is also illegal within the EU. I’m sure this is not the first or last time that this incident has happened but I am writing to see what justification Arriva and the Malta bus company have for promoting racial discrimination.