When European bus and train operator Arriva was announced as the preferred bidder in the tender for the running of the island’s scheduled bus service some weeks ago, its managing director for its operations in mainland Europe was reported saying: “Our investment in new buses and advanced technology for passengers is set to put Malta ahead of many major European cities, with a public transport system of which the people of Malta can be proud”.
With such a categorical declaration of intent, commuters, for years on end saddled with what must rank as one of the most frustrating bus services in Europe, must definitely wish the operator all the good luck in the world in its negotiations with the government for the 10-year contract. On the other hand, Arriva should not be at all surprised if the people express scepticism over its grand hopes.
People generally feel it would be absolutely useless if the new operators bring over the best buses in Europe and introduce the best operating service methods if those actually running the service, the bus drivers, are not up to scratch. If bus drivers have earned a bad reputation over the years for their behaviour at the wheel, it is all their fault for it is they that give commuters much to grumble about. Not that there are no decent drivers among the lot; there are, but they are only a few, and the rest have yet to learn what a service to the public actually means.
Only the other day, the Ombudsman, the people’s knight in shining armour, brought enough evidence to once again highlight the pitiful state in which the service has been languishing. His report on smoking on the buses makes sad reading and proves the amateurish manner in which the service is being run. One commuter reported to the authorities no fewer than 49 abuses.
Commuters are of course well aware that bus drivers often disregard the law and smoke as they well please on their buses. Not only that, but oftentimes some bus drivers keep answering calls on their mobile phones while they are driving, caring very little apparently for the safety of their passengers. This is a situation that ought to be checked now before a serious accident occurs.
Transport Malta told the Ombudsman that it had 30 enforcement officers on its books and that 53 bus drivers had been taken to court over abuses since 2008. But the Ombudsman is not impressed. In over 30 months, he said, the enforcement officers had managed between them fewer than two anti-smoking enforcements a month. He was right in remarking that the figures supplied by Transport Malta did not speak highly of the efficiency of the enforcement system, at least over the last 17 months.
The Ombudsman said: “Considering that the authority responsible for public transport is obliged to enforce legislation that concerns a serious health hazard, it appears that this organisation is not really doing much to protect commuters from abuse by drivers. Clearly enforcement procedures are not functioning as they should and urgent action is needed on the part of the authority.”
Arriva must surely know what the biggest problem in the service is today, which is why it has probably said that training “will play a major part in the recruitment and mobilisation plan”.
The service will stand or fall on the efficiency and behaviour of the people running it, the drivers.