I was travelling on bus 13 from Valletta to Sliema on Thursday, September 26, at around 10.45pm.

Something about this bus seemed familiar, particularly when I went to grab hold of a vertical handrail on the left hand side of the bus, door side, just behind the first set of seats. I found the rail was not inserted into the socket designed for it but was moving around, albeit rigidly. There appeared to be a bit of packing in the socket but the rail was loose and hovering above it. In fact it was hanging right behind the head and neck of the person sitting on the seat in front of it. It moved towards that person’s head when I grabbed it.

Here is a photo which clearly shows this dangerous bar.

I had seen this in previous months, in fact not so long after Arriva began their “service” here. It may well be the same bus.

It is clear that the damage to the handrail is by no means recent. Yet rather than fix the problem it would appear that Arriva have attempted a somewhat amateur temporary repair. It can’t be impossible to deal with properly, surely!

So I trust that both Arriva and Transport Malta and perhaps even the Minister for Transport will have this bus checked out – I believe its number is 607 – and see for themselves what is so glaringly obvious yet does not appear to have been properly dealt with. Otherwise they will be ignoring yet another accident waiting to happen. Don’t say you weren’t warned.