Transport Minister Joe Mizzi is adamant that new bus routes will come into force next year even though talks with Arriva have been going on for months.
Mr Mizzi said the talks with the transport operator were in the final stages. However, he refused to give a time frame and did not specify when the routes would be launched.
They were due to be implemented last month but were put on hold after a deadlock in talks.
“Next year, I want the new bus routes that were identified on the basis of feedback by the public to be up and running,” he said.
Discussions started at the beginning of summer when Arriva pulled all bendy buses off the roads following three incidents in the space of 48 hours, in which the engine compartments of the 18-metre-long vehicles caught fire.
As a result, Arriva was forced to subcontract some of its routes to the Unscheduled Bus Service.
Mr Mizzi said the technical report into the fires excluded arson and that he was awaiting clearance from the Attorney General to release parts of the report.
He reiterated that bendy buses would not return both on grounds of safety and because they contributed to traffic congestion.
However, a spokesman for Arriva said the report Mr Mizzi was referring to was from a magisterial inquiry related to a fire on a bus in Marsa. It did not investigate the subsequent small fires on other vehicles, he noted.
The Transport Malta fire investigators’ report said “the possibility of intentional arson cannot be ruled out” in relation to the other buses and the independent inquiry, commissioned by Mr Mizzi, claimed “one cannot totally ignore the possibility that the vehicle caught fire from something external”.
These supported the findings of an independent fire investigator, commissioned by Arriva, which listed “arson or sabotage” as a possible cause of the incidents, the spokesman said.
He insisted that the bendy buses were safe and “while there may be a desire by the government to remove them in relation to traffic management, they remain contractually compliant vehicles”.
The General Workers’ Union appealed to both parties to work towards a solution as quickly as possible.
“This uncertain situation is having a negative effect on all workers whose livelihood depends on the public transport service.”
Irrespective of the outcome of the talks, the union said it would never accept that any worker lost his job due to circumstances beyond his or her control.