The service by Arriva started sloppy from day one and it is obvious that the preparation work was left to inexperienced personnel.

For instance, when the service first started, the buses were coming through Lija village core instead of going through Robert Mifsud Bonnici Street. Passing through the village core was intentional, as a new bus stop was installed at Lija square.

Now this mistake has been realised, this new bus stop has become obsolete and should be removed. There should also be an explanation as to why the route numbers and some of the routes have been radically changed.

Was this done to demean our forefathers and to show the public what a better service we will be getting? These problems are just the ones known in our locality and one can be certain that umpteen others exist in other localities. Surely all this cannot be blamed on those drivers who did not turn up for work?

While Arriva’s CEO from the UK is here, he ought to make a concerted effort to locate the bad apples and remove them if he really wants the new service to succeed.