Local artist Cedric Galea Pirotta was com­mission­ed by Malta­Post to depict 20 selected iconic buses, capturing the unique character of each one in a sympathetic setting.

Galea was born in 1971 and has always had a passion for drawing and sketching since childhood. Self-taught, he has experimented with various techniques and has recently been concentrating on pen and ink, with washes, to bring out the character of his subject.

The buses, reminiscent of another age, were withdrawn from service and a new era of public transport was heralded in. Over the years they have become synonymous with Malta and will always be fondly remembered by locals and tourists alike.

A set of 20 stamps marks this event and depicts vehicles that were in operation over the years.

The history of buses in Malta begins in 1905 when the first vehicles were imported to run between Valletta and St Andrew’s.

They began to dominate local transport in the 1920s, eventually leading to the demise of both the Malta Tramways service in 1929 and the Malta Railway service in 1931, which together had been the mainstay of public transport since the turn of the century.

In the years following the Second World War, the bus service went through a number of reorganisations and mergers, culminating in complete centralisation through the formation of a board which started operating all bus routes under a single group of operators in 1977.

The liveries depicted in the stamps reflect the individual colour schemes for particular routes that were typical in the 1950s and 1960s.

These were amal­­­gamated into three colours in 1973 (pale blue, red and green) – this was a temporary measure until green was used through­­out the fleet in 1977.

The yellow and orange livery was introduced in 1995.

This stamp set is available from all post offices as well as from mobile post offices.

More information is available from the Maltapost Philatelic Bureau or by visiting the website www.maltaphilately.com.