Reference is made to the letters by Joseph Muscat (November 19) and Vince Williams (November 21) complaining about buses operating on route 54.

Malta Public Transport has looked into each complaint and found that buses are mostly departing on time at their departure point, however, their arrival at different bus stops was delayed on several occasions due to matters beyond the control of the bus operator.

There is a road diversion in Balzan Valley that is causing significant delays and disruptions on this route. The road works being carried out in this area are affecting this route both directly, when the route has to be diverted through other roads, and indirectly, since road closures in the vicinity of the route are resulting in traffic congestion along this route.

Although the road is not being closed every day, it is affecting the traffic flow in general, which, in turn, has a negative impact on the bus journey time, therefore delaying bus trips travelling on route 54 in both directions.

During the past month, the average delays at peak time have been as high as 27 minutes on this route, as demonstrated by the graph. The recorded data shows that delays are increasing, particularly after 5pm, with trips experiencing accumulated delays even at departure point as buses are not able to make their way to the point of departure on time.

Malta Public Transport will continue to do its utmost to ensure that buses depart on time. However, the arrival of the bus along the route will keep on depending on factors the operator has no control over, including the cooperation of various stakeholders, illegally-parked vehicles, roadworks and traffic in general.