Riding a bus from Valletta to St Julian’s at this time of the year – especially between 5pm and 7pm – is often a big hassle.

The other evening, when I arrived at the bus stop in the Valletta ditch, I had quite a shock when I saw an unusually large crowd of people, mostly tourists and foreigners, waiting for the bus to St Julian’s.

It seems every tourist and foreigner resides at St Julian’s.

When the bus arrived, everybody, including myself, jostled to get in while the stressed-out driver harangued some foreign passengers for delaying the bus by not having the right fare. The stuffy bus, packed like a can of sardines, finally took off for St Julian’s. As for the crowds waiting at the bus stops in Msida, Gżira and the Strand, they had no chance.

I experienced the same hassle with jostling on an overcrowded bus the next time I travelled from Valletta to St Julian’s. As the bus sped past all the bus stops along the route – all of them thronged with foreigners – I said to myself: “I never thought that Malta would end up like this.”

This is the price we’re paying for the overwhelming influx of tourists and foreigners in our midst.