The country stood up and applauded when Transport Minister Austin Gatt decided to forge ahead with public transport reform in spite of anarchic four-day strike in July 2008.
After decades of inertia, the public was relieved that the mediocre bus service was going to be tackled at source by a minister known for his no-nonsense approach.
The ambitious reform unveiled last October was largely met with optimism, despite the voices of several cynics who doubted whether the government could regularise that which cannot be regulated.
Proposals included a wider network, new hubs and penalties for misbehaviour. Suddenly, the thought of leaving the car at home and taking a bus seemed like a plausible alternative.
But it emerged last Tuesday that the taxpayer will have to dig deep to compensate bus owners to the tune of €54 million. Bus owners will get €103,000 for their old vehicle; those with the newer, low-floor buses will be getting €123,000. The government wants to sell the low-floor buses to the new operator and scrap most of the old ones. It is also offering a guaranteed 10-year job paid at least €9,846 a year to drivers who join the new bus operator.
The taxpayer's moral outrage is more than justified. Why should we be subsidising years of poor service and bullying?
Granted, the government has a duty by law to compensate bus owners as part of the reform process. But there is justified concern over the sum it has agreed. Though it is some distance away from the ludicrous demand by the transport association, one does not need to be an economist to realise the chasm in government assistance given elsewhere.
Maltese industry will be getting €20 million in assistance over seven years through Malta Enterprise. Home owners will be getting just €10 million to cushion the impact of water and electricity tariffs, and businesses will get €2.5 million.
The Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise has expressed its "utter disbelief" at the deal and said it hoped there would be no further bailouts on non-productive entities. After all, bus drivers only have themselves to blame for the disastrous state of the sector.
What's worse is that several of these bus drivers will be behind the same wheel once the new operator starts the service, courtesy of a 10-year job offer - which is unheard of in this day and age. Few people would have issue with giving these drivers priority in an interview - they do know their routes, after all - but a job guarantee is taking things too far.
Public Transport Association president Victor Spiteri said the compensation was being given to make up for loss of business just six years after the government had convinced self-employed owners to invest in new buses.
What he forgot to point out is that the same government had given generous subsidies to drivers to buy new vehicles. He also failed to mention the real monetary value of these buses.
The government is going to pains to say it had a moral and legal obligation to make such an offer. But the mere fact that practically all bus drivers opted for the package shows it was too good to turn down.
The government is once again giving the impression that it is willing to use the taxpayer to help those who flex their muscles and threaten to derail stability. And this time it can also bank on the deafening silence of a Labour opposition whose sole objective is to please everybody.