The government's annual bus service subsidy will go up to €23 million next year, Transport Minister Joe Mizzi revealed on TimesTalk. That is more than twice the €10 million given to Arriva.

Asked whether bus fares would also go up, Mr Mizzi refused to give a direct reply and kept saying they would be "affordable".

The minister said that once the contract was signed in the coming weeks (with Spanish bus company Autobuses de Leon), he would be able to give more information.

Mr Mizzi said there were various reasons for the increase in the subsidy. The bus service, he said, was a social requirement and the government wanted it to be efficient so that people would leave their cars at home.

€10m per year had clearly not been enough for Arriva, and the new bus service would feature more routes with millions of additional miles per year. Furthermore the distinction between fares for locals and tourists had been dropped, adding €6m to costs.

The new company would also have to buy an additional 80 buses and engage more drivers. 

He said there would be a soft opening to the new bus service, with not all the routes being introduced at the same time.

The minister said that the company was currently going through the agreement with the government clause by clause ahead of the signing in th coming weeks .It wanted to be sure that the problems suffered by Arriva would not be repeated. The government was doing the same.

A repeat of TimesTalk will be available on this website later on Wednesday.