Bus drivers are guilty of many sins, such as being rude to passengers, using the mobile phone while driving their bus full of people, or smoking at the wheel, though that is not allowed. They have added another failing to their litany: they are reluctant to tender 1c change to commuters submitting that much extra in fare. Such as to kartanzjan holders who tender 24c for the 23c fare. Under the Public Transport Authority, everything seems to be cricket: such as poor roads, rude bus drivers, and poor enforcement.

And here is another Transport Authority failure: The two ends of St Pius V Street in Rabat were in terrible condition before the rains, and near impassable after them. So machinery was sent on 3 January to dig up the surface and smooth it. One end of it – the end starting in St Dominic Square – was given its layer of tarmac, though only nine days later, on 12 January – but the other end, opening into Labour Avenue, had been left without tarmac and all building facades were turning black with the dust the constant traffic disturbs. This part was given a coat of asphalt on 19 January, meaning 16 days of a rubble road. Is there no end to the ADT’s failings?

It seems that the roads ministry cannot keep up with the potholes that keep mushrooming all over the island after each and every rainfall. It was said that a programme of resurfacing would have eliminated risks for drivers and for pedestrians too. Well, it seems that Naxxar Road in San Gwann has been completely forgotten in this regard. And don’t be surprised if accidents occur when drivers try to avoid the many potholes that there are.

Drivers have to be extra careful when driving in the rain, as the slippery roads make car control somewhat more complicated. This often leads to minor traffic accidents, which are frustrating for the drivers involved but also to other cars coming up behind them. The traffic jams that ensue after such accidents is so annoying, especially when the drivers involved in the accident take it leisurely to solve the bureaucratic procedures.

Now that the euro has become part and parcel of our lives, it is hoped that all commercial banks will continue to be as efficient as they proved to be over the past weeks in spite of the difficult time that they had. Let us also hope that people are not kept waiting outside branches as they have been constrained to do, even when there was no need to. Standing outside in the rain when knowing that there was enough room inside was rather annoying for customers.

It is a real pity that with all the facilities for waste collection that we have – including door to door collection, civic amenity sites and skips – there are still lots and lots of people who have not learnt how to dispose of their waste in the right manner. Too many areas, especially in the countryside, have been turned into rubbish dumps. What has happened to the polluter pays principle?

Disc-jockeys should be extremely careful what they say on the radio. There have been occasions when they gave narrated stories and said jokes which were not appropriate – especially when this happens during hours when it is likely that children are listening. OK, they may be funny and sometimes they really are, but at the same time it is not right that jokes with a double meaning are said when, say, parents are taking their eight to 10 year-olds to school.

The Prime Minister on various occasions has praised how our roundabouts are adorned with vegetation and flowers. There is a roundabout in an arterial road in Mtarfa bypass which has been left abandoned. This roundabout has been neglected for months on end. A lot of tourists use this road coming from Rabat excursions. It is a shame.