One man’s search for a job has transformed an old route bus into a children’s play haven.
Built in Malta, this low floor bus carried hundreds of people to and from Valletta before making way for the new Arriva buses.
And now the moaning and groaning of sweaty commuters that used to fill the bus will turn into laughter and screams of little children as they dive into a pool of coloured plastic balls.
“I was looking for work and wanted to come up with something that Malta didn’t already have,” truck-driver Glyn Turner said, with the Little Fun Bus parked behind him.
The father-of-two used to spend a lot of his time driving trucks around Europe, and wanted to find a job in Malta where he would be with his family throughout the year.
While looking at vehicles for sale, he came across a picture of a double-decker that was being transformed into a play area, but the project was half-complete.
“And I thought to myself: what is better than children’s laughter? The best thing is children’s joy,” Mr Turner said.
Since he could not bring the double-decker over he started looking for a bus in Malta, and in November of last year his mother Hilary Harrison, 66, bought the low-floor bus from the bus service provider.
A former steel company owner, Mr Turner, 41, ripped out the seats and started building the structure for the children’s jungle gym.
The low-floor bus was transformed into a colourful play area, with tunnels, slides and a play house.
But the process, which took nearly a year, wore Mr Turner out, and halfway through he nearly gave up and vowed he would never do it again.
The bus, which will start operating next week, is already gaining popularity on the social media and his partner Doreen Busuttil, 42, said they have received bookings for parties of children aged between three and seven.
Ms Busuttil is looking into places where the bus could be parked, like local weekly markets, where it would not cause an inconvenience.
The Little Fun Bus will also be present at fund raisers, where part of the proceeds will go towards charities.
The bus can host 15 children at one go and has space for the party-goers to sit down on small tables and chairs to eat.
More information about the Little Fun Bus on 9945 0335, info@littlefunbus.com and also https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Little-Fun-Bus/1400609066823429?fref=ts .