A spokesman for the Roads and Urban Development Ministry said the study was conducted on information available from January to May.

The spokesman added that the government had paid a heavy subsidy for the purchase of the 133 buses, yet some of them were literally not being used in the public transport schedule.

The Malta Independent was not given details on how many of these buses were not being used, but information available showed that some of them had not been used on the local bus schedule for as long as four months.

This means that while the new, air-conditioned buses were locked up in a garage, or were possibly being used for private functions, old buses with uncomfortable seats and no air-conditioning were being used for public transport, the spokesman said.

The public transport saga and the debate between the government, the ADT and the Public Transport Association has been going on for a number of weeks now.

The initial disagreement between the PTA and the government arose when bus drivers requested that their wage be increased from Lm10,200 to Lm15,141 – a rise of Lm4,941 – in view of increases in the cost of diesel and in the cost of living. They said they had not been given a wage increase since 1998.

Recent indications show that bus drivers have reduced their request substantially. Although this information has not been officially confirmed, it seems as if it is no longer being considered as a major stumbling block.

One of the subjects being discussed during the tripartite meetings is a reduction in the size of the fleet from the present 508 buses. The study showed that it is possible to reduce the number of buses, especially if some of them are not even being used.

The study was originally conducted by the ADT to establish how many buses were effectively needed for the Maltese public transport to run smoothly while at the same time providing an excellent service for its users.

The system being used at present – which has been used for many years – is that 245 buses are used one day and a different 245 buses are used the following day, with the bus drivers working on a day-on-day-off basis.

On their day-off, the bus drivers usually use their vehicles to provide a service to other sectors of society, such as transport for coffee mornings and other social activities,

and transport for students learning English in Malta during the

summer.

“The ADT study, which was based on data collected between January and May this year, showed that a number of buses are never used on the scheduled service or are used on the route after very long intervals. These even include a few of the 133 new buses which were imported during the past two years under the Lm4.7 million Fleet Replacement Scheme funded by the government,” the spokesman said.

The spokesman told this newspaper that this anomaly will be addressed in the new agreement between the government and the Public Transport Association (ATP) that is being drawn up and which will be signed if an accord is finally reached.

“Such a situation is unacceptable and the government will be putting its foot down regarding the matter. It plans to include a clause in the agreement reserving the right to ask for the return of the vehicle in question if it transpires that it has not been used on the scheduled bus service for a long period of time,” the spokesman said. Asked about the negotiations currently under way, the spokesman said the parties were also discussing a number of issues that were not directly related to funds.

He said that the government has also been asking the ATP to introduce disciplinary measures in order to honour commitments it made in the past, especially those regarding the requirement for drivers to wear uniforms and a total ban on smoking on public buses, even by the bus drivers.

Other measures which the government is insisting on is the introduction of methods to ensure that only diesel fuel is used to run buses rather than a mixture of diesel, petrol and petroleum, which is the reason for the white smoke some buses emit when driving up a hill.

The government also wants bus drivers to provide proof – in the form of receipts – for any expenses which are in turn subsidised by the government.