There can hardly be two more sharply contrasting reports about public transport than those published by Transport Malta and Eurobarometer, the EU’s statistics agency.

While, according to Eurobarometer, the Maltese are the most dissatisfied public transport users in Europe, patronage in 2013 reached a record high of 39.5 million. Strange as it may seem, although commuters might have been dissatisfied with the service, they actually made greater use of it during the year. Logically speaking, they would not have done so had they been as dissatisfied as the figures given by Eurobarometer show.

The Brussels agency has found that the Maltese are among the least satisfied when it comes to reliability, punctuality, and frequency of the service, describing them as by far the most negative about public transport. Yet, according to Transport Malta, the average performance in terms of punctuality and reliability was relatively constant throughout the year and ranged at between 90 and 95 per cent.

The figures given by Transport Malta represent a very high level of efficiency, in sharp contrast with the high inefficiency experienced in the first phase of operation by Arriva.

But is the assessment correct? While the number of people using the service last year was the highest since 1990, no fewer than 37 per cent said they never used public transport, the third highest rate in Europe. Patronage may have increased, but there are still many who prefer using their car to public transport, which explains the ever-increasing traffic congestion on the road.

Commuters using public transport on efficient routes are likely to have a different opinion about the service than those experiencing shortcomings in punctuality. So, what is the correct reading of the situation today? The truth may lie somewhere in between the two assessments, which is not exactly what the public expects or what the Labour Party had promised before the 2013 general election.

In fact, 15 months into office, Labour has not yet been able to put public transport on a sound footing. When Arriva packed up, well ahead of its 10-year concession, the service was nationalised. It is currently being run by a government company until a new operator is found.

There are three bidders and, although the transport minister has not given an indication when a deal with a new operator is expected to be reached, he said things were not far from being concluded.

What is sure is that the taxpayer will have to fork out a greater subsidy towards public transport than the €10 million given to Arriva. The transport minister has not said what kind of subsidy will now be paid, but argued that this would have to make up for the new routes that have to be added to the service and for the loss of income caused when the fees for foreigners were scaled back to the level of those paid by the Maltese commuter.

Forty-five new buses are joining the fleet in time for the summer schedules. Having comfortable, clean buses counts a great deal, but equally important is punctuality and reliability all the time.

The first public transport reform involving Arriva had not been as thoroughly planned by the Nationalist administration as had been expected by the public, but Labour is taking far too long to come to grips with the situation. This is in sharp contrast to what it used to say before it won the last election. The time to put public transport in good shape is long overdue.