After weeks of a patchy service, all bus routes should today start operating on schedule, according to Arriva director Piers Marlow.
Since the company had to deal with a severe staff shortage and various technical gremlins, Arriva had to take some “hard decisions” and reduce the frequency of some routes, to the frustration of many commuters.
The company has imported drivers from the UK and kept up recruitment, slowly bringing some routes up to speed up until today, when the service should start running according to the timetable as advertised on arriva.com.mt, at least that is what the operators are promising.
“We still have improvements to make,” managing director Keith Bastow said on Saturday.
In the wake of numerous complaints and feedback, Transport Malta has introduced a number of new routes, including a direct service from Ċirkewwa to Valletta, and amended problematic ones, which should be put to the test today.
Arriva reported a 20 per cent increase in passenger journeys in August when compared to the same period last year when, the old bus system was still running.
Arriva is also on track to have a fully locally-sourced driver base by the end of next month and is testing out the computer system that will keep passengers informed on buses’ arrival time.
In view of the pledge to revamp the service on September 11, yesterday, passengers waiting at a somewhat quiet Valletta bus terminus were asked whether the service, which was receiving 161 complaints a day, was getting any better or did the buses still have a long way to go.
Joel Baldacchino, 16, student, Luqa
I get the bus regularly and the service isn’t bad. Sometimes they take long, especially in the north, but it’s not bad overall.
I’ve seen the service improve over time but it would be better if there were some improvements. A lot of routes have to change, for example Sta Luċija doesn’t have a bus to Valletta, commuters have to go to Paola or Fgura to get a bus.
Maria Sammut, 61, pensioner, Marsascala
I have been here since the service started as I live in Australia. Today, I was a bit disgusted by the driver’s behaviour. Admittedly, I did not tell him I was an old person but once I offered to show him my ID card he was rude to me and told me it was up to me if I didn’t want to tell him my age. All he had to do was ask if I was an elderly person politely.
A couple of days ago we spent an hour and a half waiting for a bus but on the whole I’m happy with the service.
I hope they’ll manage to fix the service, I’m here for three months and I was really happy to find this service, so if they can improve upon it the better it would be. I’ve seen the service improve though.
Oscar Castaldi, 72, pensioner, Cospicua
I use the bus regularly but some routes need to be fixed because a lot of old people are suffering as they are not served as well as they were in the past.
The times the buses run are better for those who want to stay out late and I hope they manage to fix punctuality problems because most complaints I’ve heard were about arrival and departure times.
In the Cottonera area, punctuality varies but I do realise that if a bus encounters traffic it’s going to take long. It’s not a jet, after all.
Jonathan Meilak, 39, hotel employee, Sta Venera
I use the bus five times a week. The service is better now.
Before they used to run late and were full up; now it looks as if it’s getting better.
I think that they’re managing to arrive on time. It seems to be going well.
Irene Camilleri, 73, pensioner, Marsascala
I don’t use the bus too regularly but in Marsascala we’re quite well-served. We find no problems leaving to Valletta as buses keep coming. There are buses to Marsaxlokk and to Buġibba. We have some problems here in Valletta; at times we spend a lot of time waiting.
I hope they’ll manage to fix punctuality problems. God forbid they don’t start leaving on time!
Deborah Cassar, 16, student, Mosta
I use the bus quite regularly, about three times a week. The service is sometimes good, sometimes not. For instance, now I’ve been here 15 minutes and the bus hasn’t arrived yet. It hasn’t been much of a problem for me but whenever I came here before I always found a bus.
Couldn’t they have managed to start the regular service earlier?