The best indicator of there not being a problem in a particular sector, is quite simple. There is no griping.

When Arriva first began operations, it was an absolute shambles. Buses were late, others did not work at all, some routes were unserviced and the routes were just far too long. Predictably, the floodgates opened and although completely justified to do so, Malta attacked Arriva, Transport Malta and the Transport Ministry with gusto. People were, quite simply, furious.

But Arriva stuck to its task in adding more buses and engaging the services of more bus drivers. Still people were not happy and demanded that more of the old Valletta routes were put into place. Arriva acquiesced to the demand and placated the users.

From there, the transport task force was set up and finally, things really did get into gear. But when you talk to bus users, especially those who have had the experience of using underground connections, they will admit that the biggest problem in the reform was perhaps the passengers themselves. People did not, and still do not want to buy into the system of interchanges; it seems that they want to just get on one, or maximum two buses to get to their destination of choice.

Since the task force got down to work, the complaints declined sharply. In fact, one barely hears a peep anymore, so it must actually mean that something has improved, and drastically.

And now, Arriva has a golden opportunity. One of the main areas of complaint in the old system, was the unreliability of service over the Christmas period. And this is where the company can redeem itself. If Arriva can offer good, uninterrupted and reliable service over Christmas and the New Year, then perhaps the users will slowly but surely, begin to warm to it. Let’s be honest, they were given hell for the start-up disaster and they fully deserved it. But all parties concerned have pulled together and improved the service tenfold. Is it perfect? Not by any stretch of the imagination. But it is a darn sight better than what it was when it first began operations and it is a darn sight better than the old system.

Arriva has definitely moved on and improved. Let us hope that slowly, over time, the Maltese commuter would be given everything he was promised, and that is quite a lot.