Transport Minister Joe Mizzi will be commuting with Arriva in the coming days to personally experience and better understand problems being reported by users.

Speaking this morning, the minister said that at 5am today, he visited problematic areas but made the mistake of informing Arriva he would be visiting and he felt that the service was improved on his behalf.

His bus commuting in the coming days, he said, would be unannounced.

The minister was speaking during a visit to the Mtarfa Playground Project this morning, which he said would be completed by the end of this year or the beginning of the next.

The government, he said, had continued with this €450,000 project on the ring road beneath Dar il-Kaptan, which had been announced in December 2011.

Olive trees were being retained in a field area with benches and there will also be a play area with equipment.

In all, the project covers an area of 2,293 square metres.

Mayor Daniel Attard said the playground had been promised for years.

The minister also said that work on the parvis of the Kalkara church was to start next week, that on the Hamrun church parvis within two months.