Malta Public Transport will add 28 new buses to its fleet as of Monday, the company announced today.

The €6 million investment comes as the public bus company experiences strong growth, with four million passengers carried in July. Passenger numbers are up by 12 per cent this year. 

MPT chairman Felipe Cosmen said the 28 new buses come after the company added 33 buses to its fleet last year. Malta now has 204 more public buses in service than it did just two years ago, Mr Cosmen said. 

The new buses will all come with inbuilt USB chargers, allowing passengers to charge their mobile devices as they travel. Seven of the 28 also include luggage racks and will be deployed on routes used by tourists. 

An average of 16 buses an hour pass through the airport. Photo: Jonathan Borg

With tourism at record highs, bus traffic to and from the airport has also increased, Mr Cosmen said, with an average of 16 buses passing through Malta International Airport every hour. The company has recently opened a ticket booth at the airport's arrivals lounge to facilitate bus travel for incoming tourists, he added. 

The MPT chairman told reporters that bus drivers were often hampered by irregularly parked vehicles, which delayed buses and made it difficult for the company to stick to scheduled times. 

He urged motorists to be more responsible or use alternative means of transport, and also asked authorities to do their utmost to improve mobility and road infrastructure.  

"Other countries had this same challenge, but they managed to adapt," Mr Cosmen noted.