(Adds GWU, Arriva statement)
A number of bus drivers who were scheduled to drive today failed to report for duty, Arriva reported this morning. The company was not in a position to immediately report on numbers, but said it was forced to call in "a large number" of drivers to cover.
"We have more British drivers starting work today which means services should improve as the day progresses," it added.
The company said that X1, X2, 11, 12 and 13, and services to Marsaxlokk and Birzebbuga are delayed but this should be alleviated by mid-morning.
Earlier this morning there were also delays on routes 51 and 71.
"We apologise to those passengers who have been affected. We are grateful for your patience and would like to assure you that we are making our best efforts to provide a service for all areas," the company said.
The company has already brought in 55 foreign drivers and is also bringing in support staff from Britain and Portugal.
As people continued to complain about delays on many routes and air conditioning systems which did not work, international CEO David Martin, replying to questions at a press conference yesterday, said Arriva was committed to deliver full services as soon as possible and would use all resources to do that.
He also confirmed that Arriva had switched off the telematic system - the IT system which administers the schedules and the electronic signage on the buses - saying the system would be deployed again once problems had been overcome and the system could be followed.
Readers this morning reported that Arriva buses kept getting jammed down St Julian's Hill. They said the buses got jammed in this area three to four times a day.
Shortcomings in system not the workers' fault - GWU
The General Workers Union thanked Arriva employees for their efforts in the circumstances.
It condemned those who were trying to blame workers for the current problems.
Many, the GWU said, were making big sacrifices for the people to be given the best service possible but not everything depended on them.
They were working long hours without rest to serve the public but, in spite of their efforts, many still preferred to blame the workers for the problems in the system.
The union said it was convinced that most of the problems were not the workers’ fault and it was putting pressure on the company for the new roster agreed with the company to come into effect before July 17.
It was today agreed that the workers should retained the roster for the next three days to mitigate the problems caused by lack of contact between Arriva and its workers.
The union said it was to continue doing all that was possible for the systems to change for the better and appealed to the people not to point fingers at the workers.
Arriva welcomes GWU statement
Arriva Director Piers Marlow said:
“We welcome the statement from the GWU and their support. We would like to add our own thanks to the drivers who have made a huge effort to deliver good customer service for passengers, despite the challenges.
As we have acknowledged this week, we recognise and appreciate their sterling efforts at this difficult time and prefer to concentrate on talking about those drivers rather than any who have let us – and ultimately the passengers - down.
“In the meantime we can only assume that if people do not turn-up for duty tomorrow then they do not want to work with us, but we do not want to be in any way unfair as the views of our people are very important to us.
"I would reiterate, that if any driver has any queries whatsoever, get in touch - there are a number of channels and procedures in place through which employees can raise any questions, concerns or grievances with us directly.
“I remain totally impressed by the level of commitment and enthusiasm shown by Arriva Malta’s current drivers and am confident that they will be the backbone of this transformational change to public transport,” he said.