There was a chaotic start to the tallinja card services this morning, as hundreds waited in the queue to top up their cards at the Valletta terminus, some people fainting in the heat.

But, for Malta Public Transport, the “system is working” and it is generally satisfied with the changeover process.

The police had to intervene as tempers flared as people waited for long hours to charge their card, only to find out that they still had to pay €2 for the service because the system is not working properly.

Bus trips were also taking longer, and many were reminded of the first days of the Arriva bus service when confusion reigned supreme. “We have gone back to the Arriva days,” one frustrated consumer said.

In its statement, MPT said it is generally satisfied with the changeover process which involved the installation of 300 new ticketing machines and vehicle tracking systems on all buses, and the training of over 800 drivers with the new systems and fare structure. New specialised software was installed which was customised to take into consideration the local requirements.

“As with any transition, it is expected to experience some minor technical problems, especially in such a major change. However the company is confident that these will be resolved quickly. A small number of instances were in fact reported. In such cases, drivers have been briefed to allow the passengers to board for free.

The company admitted that it received complaints that bus passengers still had to pay the fare although in possession of a card. Malta Public Transport apologised for this inconvenience, and assured the public that all these tickets will be refunded.

The company has increased the amount of call centre personnel for the next few days to deal with any enquiries that may be made, the statement said.

Some technical problems that were reported with some customers not being able to top up their card this morning have been resolved. 

Due to the quality of some photos that were taken at registration stage, the company has issued some temporary cards which can be used normally. The cardholders will be contacted by Malta Public Transport to organise a free replacement of this card.

A number of The Malta Independent readers – who received a card without a photo displayed on it - said the fact that the card does not bear a photo can lead to abuse. When they called MPT to make them aware that their photo was not displayed on the card, they were told that the quality of the photo they supplied them with was not good but the card could be used just the same.

 

Transport Malta later said:

Transport Malta has been closely monitoring today’s launch of the new Tallinja Card system. The Authority is aware of numerous reports on operational issues faced by commuters particularly in Valletta.

The change to a new bus card system is in itself a culture change that will bring about significant benefits to the people and the public transport operation itself. It is aimed at reducing waiting time, improve passenger boarding whilst enhancing data collection that can be used to improve the system. Transport Malta is satisfied that circa 140,000 actively responded to this significant change, and enrolled for the Tallinja Card issued by the Public Transport Operator. This contrasts significantly with the 20,000 card users under the previous system.

Transport Malta is sensitive and aware that such an overwhelming change brought about a number of challenges that need to be addressed immediately by the Operator to ensure improvement in the service. It is also aware of the huge number of late applications for Tallinja Card over the last few days. In fact, over the last 24 hours, circa 7,500 people appled for tallinja card.

The Operator has been asked to deploy more customer care officers primarily in Valletta to provide assistance in Topping Up of Tallinja cards and answer general queries. TM has also asked the Operator to speed up the processing of the new Tallinja applications to ensure these are received by respective applicants in the shortest time possible.

Transport Malta will continue to be vigilant and monitor the situation relentlessly and is confident that the desired objectives of the off-the-bus ticketing system can be achieved.

 

Transport Malta deplores without any reservation the incident involving the Hungarian citizen in Valletta this morning and appeals to the general public to avoid confrontation. It also appeals to the general public to use online tools available for topping up and for the application of the Tallinja card in order to avoid queuing and congestion at the points of sale, primarily in Valletta.