The new public transport service now has been operating or is supposed to have been operating for the last three weeks. Nobody including myself could ever think that it was possible to have a service which would be worse than the previous one. However Transport Malta and Arriva managed to work a miracle and do this.

How can a person in a healthy state of mind think that the new routes would be better than the old ones? We have people who, unfortunately for them, have to use the public transport daily and are spending two or three hours on the bus before arriving at their destination. This is pure incompetence, irresponsibility and abuse of citizen rights.

A very important aspect that nobody seems to be mentioning is the damage that this service is creating to our tourist industry. Negative word of mouth advertising is probably the order of the day from tourists who have to use this service. GonziPN is making Malta the laughing stock of Europe starting from the divorce issue, ending with Arriva and plenty more in between. The long-term damage that this service is causing to our tourism industry will be felt in the coming months and years.

We have a public transport service which is not even acceptable in a third world country. Yet government officials are still trying to defend their choice of changing the routes exactly in the middle of summer, our peak tourism season. Gonzi, Gatt and the rest should ask their conscience if the damage they are causing by this disservice to the country is right.

As Maltese citizens we deserve an answer and the person responsible for this mess should be fired immediately.

Malcolm Seychell

Birkirkara