What constitutes “noticeable” progress (in anything) is a matter for debate. Certainly, some improvements have recently been made in the current bus service, mainly by the reduction of waiting time in a number of localities.

The main problems, however, lie in the routes themselves. The merging of some routes is leading to overcrowding, and to people not being picked up at bus stops, as buses are full by the time they arrive there. 

A number of routes have been discontinued, leading to considerable inconvenience and (in some cases) hardship to passengers. Take the case of the old bus route No.1, which has been discontinued. The bus passed through the Tal-Ħawli area and the upper part of Cospicua, instead of along the Cospicua seafront.  

As a result, people living in Tal-Ħawli and in the Santa Margherita, Verdala and Alexandra Street areas of Cospicua who want to go to Valletta now either have to board the 121 bus and then change at Cospicua seafront for a Valletta-bound bus (2 or 3) or walk all the way to the “Riche” stop (previously the Vittoriosa Terminus), or down to the seafront. 

This involves a walk of up to one mile in some cases and, considering the current frequency of the 121 bus, is the only practical solution. The revised routes as recently announced, do not address this problem. The only alternative to walking is to take the No 121 Bus from the stops along Alexandra Street, take a trip to Paola via Xgħajra and Żabbar, and then change there. The old number 22 service linking the three Cities directly with Marsascala via Żabbar has also been discontinued. The fact that the revised routes, as announced, will include the merging of numbers 121 and 124 will not solve the problem. The new super-route will provide a trip between Cospicua / Vittoriosa (not Senglea) and Marsascala without having to change buses, but will involve a meandering tour of Paola, Fgura, Żabbar, Cospicua, Bulebel, Żejtun, Marsascala and Tal-Barrani to reach one’s destination. The fact that this route only runs in one direction does not help.  

Two other problems have to be looked into, after the routes have been finalised to everyone’s satisfaction.   The first of these is the names on most of the bus stops.  It would appear that whoever compiled them was obsessed with limiting them to one word, even when this was meaningless or (often) downright ridiculous, and also did not bother to make sure that the towns and localities therein were correct.  

The overall result can only be described as disastrous, and the names will simply have to be corrected. I am sure the local councils could help in this matter. The other problem is the journey planner in the Arriva website. The route diagrams are full of mistakes, the compilers seem to have been entirely unaware of the correct way of depicting end-points or circular routes, and the options offered for journeys between two points include some which are ludicrous. For example, if one wants to go from point A to Point B, one can take either a bus which goes from one point to the other, or take the same bus, stop at point C, D or E en route, and then take another bus to point B. Why on earth anyone going from Vittoriosa to Valletta on a No.3 bus (which is going all the way there) should want to stop at Blata-l-Bajda, Bombi or Floriana, and then take another Bus to Valletta is, of course, beyond comprehension. And so on……

■ Dr Louis J. Saliba

Cospicua