The first five buses out of a fleet of an additional 32 have been delivered, just three weeks after Autobuses de Leon took over the Malta bus service.

The name Malta Public Transport will however remain. The total number of the new fleet would be 142 new buses.

Felipe Cosmen, the chairman of MPT, told this newsroom that it would be a long journey to train drivers to become customer-focused but he is adamant that this goal will be achieved. Currently, he said, 70 drivers are undergoing training. More are to follow and the intention of the company is to employ local drivers unless not enough locals apply.

But this is highly unlikely since the company is receiving up to 35 applications from locals a week.

He was replying to questions made by this newsroom if the company intends making sure that the newly trained bus drivers observe the rules and become more customer-focused.

The media were this morning invited to view the new Mercedes buses.

The five buses are equipped with Euro 5 engines however 27 Euro 6 buses are to arrive by summer. The cooling units of the buses have also been upgraded to cater for Malta’s hot weather.

He explained that the Euro 5 buses would then be returned to the UK after one year. Therefore the total buses to arrive by the summer would be 32.

The Euro 6 buses are 9.6 metres long and can take between 60 to 68 passengers. The Euro 5 can carry up to 79 passengers, including a wheelchair case. It is estimated that 600 drivers are working on a full-time or part-time basis.

Of particular importance is the fact that the new buses have two entry and exit points – one at the front of the vehicle for passengers to board and the other at the back for passengers to alight.