I very much enjoyed reading the article by Anthony Buttigieg entitled ‘The road to nowhere’, (The Sunday Times of Malta, October 8).

I would like to add a few thoughts myself. The problem of traffic jams is partly due to an inefficient public transport system. In spite of our having to pay Autobus de Leon four times what we paid Arriva, the service has deteriorated. The company cannot find enough drivers for the limited number of buses available.

The result is that the public is not being well served. There are frequent cancellations of scheduled bus trips and the buses leave the Valletta terminus with passengers standing up – which means they cannot pick up more passengers on the way unless other descend.

The idea of connecting the Sliema ferry to the Cottonera one is costly and will take time.   Another way of going round this question is to have some mini-buses that can transport commuters from Marsamxett to Lascaris Wharf. If the ferries are well coordinated, the trips could be carried out without any time being lost.

Heavy lorries going to Gozo ought to be transported directly from the Valletta harbours. These are holding up traffic in various places across Malta. Another way of easing the traffic problems is to create new roads. How about continuing the St Paul’s Bay bypass starting from Xemxija to join the Mellieħa bypass?