I am of the opinion that such a radical reform of the public transport system should have been planned with greater involvement of the public, as represented by local councils and by other civic committees. This is not the responsibility of the operator (Arriva Ltd) which is a commercial concern but of the Regulator - The Transport Ministry and its agency Transport Malta.

This is a very radical reform and involves many aspects. However how the reform is going to effect the public is not to be decided without public consultation. In the same manner as Mepa consults the public on demolition of buildings etc, so Transport Malta should consult the public and public organisations on the changing of the bus routes.

The quality of the service that Arriva is offering should be a big improvement on the service that was offered by the previous operator - the buses are air-conditioned, comfortable and so on - and the drivers are polite and courteous. However, for the commuter, overriding all this is the time-factor… how long it takes to arrive at destination point from departure point.

I am not referring to the present delays due to the shortage of drivers - which to my mind has not been thoroughly explained by the authorities, since the drivers should not have been handed their time-tables on the eve of the introduction of the service. However, that is another matter.

To safeguard the commuters’ interest Transport Malta must ensure that the travelling time in normal circumstances is not unduly longer than under the old service.

In this regard I appeal to the Consumers Association and the governmental Consumers Division to take up the matter.

Mario Mifsud

Naxxar