Bus passengers have expressed disgust after discovering that a two-hour ticket under the new tariff structure is not valid for a return journey.
Commuters took to Facebook to complain after they were forced to buy two tickets costing 75c each way because a ticket cannot be used twice on the same route.
One passenger said he was better off under the former scheme which enabled him to buy a day ticket.
“I ended up paying €1.50 for a trip that took less than 90 minutes to get from Msida to Valletta and back.”
According to the terms and conditions listed on the Malta Public Transport website, the ‘single journey fare’, known as the two-hour ticket, covers “any trips from any point in the country to any final destination, including line changes if necessary, within a two-hour period”.
However, it seems many people were unaware that the regulations also state that it is not permitted to board twice on the same route in either direction with the same Single Journey Ticket.
Asked by The Sunday Times of Malta if they were willing to ditch this clause, a Malta Public Transport spokesman said:
“A journey is defined as any number of trips taken by the customer to get to a final destination. This includes any changes that may be required. The trips must be within a two-hour period.”
As for the distribution of the new tallinja card, the company said that all customers who had applied before the end of last month should have received it, even though this newspaper is still receiving complaints on this issue.
The spokesman pointed out that these might be due to incorrect address details and customers moving home. For this reason, the company was contacting these customers to confirm their details before reposting their card, he added.
Customers who have not yet received their card may file a complaint on 2201 4824 or via e-mail on mycard@tallinja.com.
On the other hand, the bus operator acknowledged that there were still teething problems when customers topped up their card through the Maltapost branches. In some cases, users were told that it might take up to a week before they could use it.
“This will be fully resolved in the coming days. In the meantime, customers who have paid more because they could not use the card have been refunded accordingly,” the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the spokesman confirmed that the summer schedule would be rolled out today as planned. He noted that this would result in a more frequent service in tourist areas.
However, no details were divulged about trips to popular beaches like Ġnejna Bay and Armier, where the service this year has not yet started.