Perhaps the thing that people do not miss about the old yellow buses was the attitude and appearance of the (not all bus drivers). Of course, we all look back through rose tinted glasses. But we have to ask; are we returning to the days of old?

If Arriva did manage one thing, it was the induction of drivers who were (on the most part) smart, courteous and decent folk. The service itself was terrible – an absolute shambles actually – but in terms of bus drivers, things had improved somewhat.

Now, we are being furnished with the temporary service that has been provided by Malta Public Transport. A report on the front page of this edition publishes the comments of a patron of the service, who claims she was abused by a bus driver. The 65-year-old said that she was trying to help an elderly woman when the bus driver passed disparaging remarks at her, then proceeded to imitate a goat call at her.

One understands that bus drivers might get frustrated, but it has been a noticeable trend. Since Arriva pulled out, we are back to where we started. Rude bus drivers have once again become the norm.

Bus lanes and bus stops are, once again, a thing of the past as buses simply stop in the middle of a street and allow passengers on or off, regardless of the traffic build up behind them.

The actual quality of driving has also gone down the drain as the “I’m bigger than you attitude”. The situation is, in turn, compounded by the fact that the bus drivers do not own the buses so they take even more risks.

The government has said that it is in advanced state of negotiations with the Spanish company which is due to come in and take over the service. But a lot needs to be done.  The fact that many complaints are recorded, but never acted on is testament to what customer care in this country means. We are sure that like everywhere else, Malta has its issues. But when it comes to the customer, the very opposite seems to hold true to the saying “the customer is always right. In this country, it’s more like “the customer broke it”, or its the customer’s fault.

This is a service that people are paying for. Bus drivers should be courteous and help passengers, not cat call them and mimic sounds of goats! What kind of country are we living in. This incident was not an isolated one. We have received various complaints about the behaviour of drivers of late. Couples with their haphazard and downright dangerous manoeuvres on the roads, it makes a recipe for disaster. It needs to change and it needs to change fast.