Labour has pledged to remove bendy-buses from problematic routes and has not ruled out taking them off Malta’s roads altogether.

A day after London Mayor Boris Johnson celebrated the fact that his “beached-whale” buses were now “clogging up the streets of Malta”, Labour jumped firmly on the bendy-bus wagon with a billboard.

The billboard pokes fun at Transport Minister Austin Gatt, whose ministry claimed on Tuesday that Maltese passengers appreciated the comfort and sheer capacity of the articulated buses.

‘Austin went to London and all he got us was a lousy bendy-bus!’ states Labour’s billboard, seen in Floriana and Msida yesterday morning – less than 24 hours after the mayor’s jibe was reported by local media.

The Times yesterday asked the Labour Party whether it planned to remove the bendy-buses and the party said: “Bendy-buses will be removed from routes where they are evidently leading to daily congestions. If they create congestion on all routes, they are evidently not good for Maltese roads,” a spokesman for Labour leader Joseph Muscat said.

Meanwhile, Labour’s transport spokesman Joseph Sammut issued a statement to say that Mr Johnson’s speech confirmed the planned transport reform had failed.

Although Dr Gatt and his clique had made a mockery of themselves, their actions had also caused the country to be ridiculed, he added.

Labour’s new billboard. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Kim Dalli waits with commuters at bus termini to find out whether they are happy to be boarding the bendy.

Emanuela Laus, 50, from Naxxar
I’ve sometimes boarded buses which were not in a very good condition, with leaky air conditioning units and broken handles. In other respects, I suppose they’re fine.

Elizabeth Borg, 61, from Paola
The service is horrible – we’ve been waiting here for ages. When I spoke to one of the inspectors, I was told that the bus we’re waiting for broke down and they don’t have another available at the moment.

Maria Dawson, 60, from Buġibba
I don’t find any difficulty with making use of the bendy-buses. However, I always avoid staying at the back of the bus. Generally speaking, the service is satisfactory although I do find the long periods of waiting to be problematic.

Tom Rusher, 18, from San Ġwann
They can be quite useful at times. The other buses can be quite small so it’s quite hard to fit a substantial number of people inside. However, the narrow streets pose problems for the bendy-buses.

Tarcisio Scicluna, 67, from Mosta
I think they’re good. They are able to carry a large amount of people, which helps ease traffic on our roads (at least in theory, it should). They do break down sometimes but I would say that the majority of the bendy-buses are in good working condition.

Tiziana Scerri, 19, from Mosta
It depends on the location – for example they were unable to turn at the Mater Dei roundabout. But I suppose we’ve gotten used to them. Speaking as a passenger, they’re not bad. However, despite having ample room for standing passengers, seats are quite limited. I generally end up standing most of the time.