Malta Public Transport said today that over 62,000 cards have been topped up successfully of which 40,000 have already been used at least once on the bus. “These are very encouraging numbers which continue to grow every day. At the same time, we have continued to experience an increase in registrations for the tallinja card with almost 160,000 registrations so far. We have delivered all cards that were registered until the 30th June and we are committed to deliver the remaining cards as soon as possible”, explained Daniel Grech, Commercial Director.
Grech also said that there could have been cases where the card could not be delivered for example because of a problem with the address. “We decided to launch a dedicated telephone line (22014824) and email ([email protected]) just in case anyone that registered for their card before the 30th June has still not received it. A replacement card will be sent free of charge right away.”
“We also understand that some people may have experienced problems with their tallinja cards, either when topping up or when using them on the buses, and we apologise for this inconvenience. We note that these are isolated cases and our technical people are working continuously to resolve these cases as they are reported, and where necessary a replacement card is being issued.”
Malta Public Transport continued to retain a team of people in the Valletta Terminal to assist with any enquiries, although it noticed an overall decrease in the number of enquiries over the last few days.
Malta Public Transport explained that the use of the current two hour ticket of 30c for Kartanzjan/Maltese 60+ ID Holders, KNPD Special ID Holders, and Children under 10 has reduced significantly over the last few days, but it will remain available on the bus for the time being to allow sufficient time for people to get used to the new system.
Grech reminded cardholders that they can top up their card easily on the website www.tallinja.com, at any post office, or using top-up vouchers available from over 300 outlets around Malta and Gozo. He also reminded cardholders that top-ups may take up to 24 hours to get registered on their card.
The company also confirmed that all 40 new buses have been put into service this weekend, therefore increasing capacity on a number of routes, paving the way for the summer timetables that will start on Sunday 12th July. The feedback received so far from passengers and employees have been very positive. The next batch of buses will arrive from Turkey in the comings weeks and will be put into service right away.