A total of 45 buses an hour are now servicing Mater Dei and the university and these are expected to increase to 52 an hour when the last the remaining connections kick into the network, Transport Malta said.
It said in a statement that, at this point, every locality in Malta will have a direct link both to Mater Dei Hospital and to the university.
TM said that under the previous service there was never a direct link from every locality in Malta, contrary to impressions when there were 22 buses per hour operated with the old service.
It said that due to the load on the main entrance of Mater Dei– which can take up to 36 buses per hour – the buses exceeding that capacity are being directed to the Mater Dei stop, which services the university as well, at the back of the hospital.
In this area there are three bus stops – "Sptar" being the entrance to the Hospital; "Mater Dei" being at the back of the hospital next to the University car park and "Qroqq" which is on the Regional Road off University.
TM said that while it was still early days to judge how the service was being utilised by the public, traffic since last Monday has increased in line with the usual seasonal changes and as expected has hit travelling time.
Students at university and MCAST have added some 15,000 regular commuters whether by car or by public transport.
Most Mater Dei routes worked well and although some delays were experienced on Monday, most have now been resolved.
Buses were not being overloaded when terminating at Mater Dei or University.
TM said that notwithstanding the media blitz to introduce the new services, it still encountered people who still used the old network methodology, using two buses when they could use one.
Transport Malta is distributing a booklet with bus connections both at Mater Dei and at University to help passengers become more aware of their improved travelling options.
PL INVITES PUBLIC OPINION ON SERVICE
The Labour Party has invited the public to give their opinion about the service at trasportpubbliku@partitlaburista.org.
The party has also set up a facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kif-tahsbu-li-jistghu-jigu-mtejjba-r-rotot-tal-ARRIVA/210566299008759.