Arriva Malta has received monthly payments of €685,416 by way of public service compensation since it launched its bus service in Malta, Transport Minister Austin Gatt said in Parliament in reply to a question by Opposition whip Joe Mizzi.

€262,375 was deducted from the August 2012 payment for service penalties. Last month the deduction was €227,525.

Over and above the public service compensation, Arriva received payments as refunds of expenses incurred for route changes in the first six months of the service or as a result of infrastructural works demanded by Transport Malta from the operator.

These payments consisted of €80,912 for the transport to Malta of 13 additional articulated (bendy) buses, €45,370 for changing colours on 13 buses for temporary use, €1,879,339 for the local sub-contracting of routes between November 2011 and January 2012, and €77,808 for public information and advertising on route changes.

The last amount was reduced by €142,261, being €90,525 in service penalties, €34,536 for cleaning works at the Valletta bus terminus and €17,200 for garaging of buses.

€508,765 were paid to Arriva for infrastructural works it was asked to undertake.

Costs for the importation of 17 additional buses for four months while the 28 buses that Arriva bought from Transport Malta were refurbished amounted to €244,370, with €154,972 in transport costs for the 17 additional buses.

The 28 buses bought from Transport Malta were being used on the ATP public transport service up to July 2, 2011.

Dr Gatt said Arriva Malta Ltd had also requested the payment of €832,000 to cover additional expenses related to IT system adjustments following route changes in the first five months of operations, additional training given to bus drivers following the route changes, expenses related to route changes demanded at short notice by Transport Malta, and the impact of delays in the construction of Park and Ride sites.

This amount had not been paid but offset against Transport Malta's outlay of €833,842 on additional coaches brought in in the first two months to help the operator cope with the level of service stipulated in the contract.