We frequently hear that one of the main causes of traffic jams (which, in turn, causes pollution, road rage and many other problems) is the fact that people use private cars rather than public transport.

I admit that ever since Austin Gatt’s decision to “take the bull by the horns”, making an already unacceptable service worse, I decided to limit my use of public transport due to its unreliability.

In the meantime, we have had a change in the country’s administration and, despite the present government claiming that our country is the best in Europe, attempts to improve matters have yielded no results, at least with regard to the buses that service my village.

Ever since Gatt’s piece of bravado, we have not had a minimally dependable schedule which, at least, assures one that the bus in question leaves the main Valletta terminus on time.

Still, whenever I am not in a hurry, I try to use public transport to do my very small part in relieving the problems we face.

Last week, though, I had an experience which put(s) my commitment to test. I realised there are not enough buses serving my route and in Valletta I met a friend who had been waiting for more than an hour. By the way, the bay from where our bus leaves is one of only two in the ditch that does not have any form of cover or shelter.

When we asked the person in charge regarding the delays, his answer (in the age of digital telephony and all that) was that the drivers were nowhere to be found. A female driver who, very kindly, offered to use one of the many idle buses, was not allowed to do so.

Best in Europe my foot.