Spanish transport company Autobuses de Leon has admitted that its Malta bus service is not yet up to scratch six months after taking over, but is promising it will soon improve.

“I cannot say that we are satisfied with the service yet as most of the measures we have implemented so far were internal operational changes meant to make the system more manageable,” Alesa director of transportation Julio Tironi told The Sunday Times of Malta.

On the other hand, he noted that the introduction of the electronic bus card ticketing system next month would improve the overall efficiency of the service. He remarked that in the first six weeks following its launch, some 90,000 people had registered for the new bus card which would soon be distributed.

The company is in the process of adding 142 new buses to its fleet

Asked about their strategy to deal with traffic on Malta’s congested roads, Mr Tironi said one solution would be to allocate more buses at peak times. As part of this plan the company is in the process of adding 142 new buses to its fleet by the end of the summer.

The first batch of 40 vehicles, being manufactured by Turkish company Otokar, will be in service next month. The new 9.6 metre-long buses can carry 60 passengers but are less likely to bring traffic to a standstill when negotiating tight bends as they are narrower than the existing fleet. While declining to give any figures, Mr Tironi said passenger-load and ticket sales had increased. Asked whether they were meeting financial targets, Mr Tironi said results so far had been in line with their plans, including the investment of over €30 million including the new buses.

Last January the Spanish group took over Malta Public Transport Services Limited, but contrary to what happened in July 2011 when Arriva took over, they opted for a soft launch. Consequently they will be rolling out their fully-fledged services next month and introduce new routes gradually.