The situation on our high streets has never been more chaotic.

Ever since the new and wider Arriva buses landed in Malta, they have come to dominate our main roads.

Sometimes, they are so wide that two of them cannot pass each other. A case in point is Sliema’s Mrabat Street and San Ġwann’s main road. At Mellieħa, the tight corner next to HSBC actually has to be monitored by wardens after a spate of collisions.

Then, there is another issue. One notices how traffic inevitably halts and has to wait until the big buses get a move on.

The situation is clearly unacceptable on any level and is leading to more and more delays on the road, not just for the people on the Arriva buses but also for people driving their own cars.

In a way, what’s done is done: The buses are here, the roads are that wide (or narrow) and cars have been allowed to park along the main streets and will never accept that parking ‘right’ to be withdrawn.

But at least, something can be done, maybe. Anyone who sees what is happening cannot but be struck by the fact that for all the instructions they have been given, the Arriva drivers continue to stop in the road, without managing to edge sideways into the bus stop area reserved for them.

But before one jumps up and starts blaming the drivers, a cursory look at most bus stops shows there is nowhere where the bus can really approach the bus stop because many times the bus stop is preceded by a parking space and another parking space immediately follows the bus stop.

The buses, unlike ships, do not come with a propeller that can be swivelled so that they move sideways. They need space to come in and space to go out.

Hence the suggestion that the parking spaces immediately before the bus stops are removed, as also the parking spaces immediately beyond the bus stops.

Meanwhile, a drive must be made by wardens and police alike to remove any cars that park on bus stops. Sometimes, one gets the odd delivery truck that stops at the bus stop just to unload something but when this happens 20 times a day, and when there is this van unloading anytime one passes, things have clearly got out of hand and a friendly word from the police may be needed.

And wardens and police must also be on their guard whenever they notice that a bus has stopped in mid-road instead of on the side. Sometimes, as said in this leader, this could be because of some obstacle, but repetition of the abuse soon becomes the norm and if allowed unchecked leads to a severe deterioration of service.

There are already some other signs that familiarity with the system is leading to abuse – the signs on the front of the buses are not being switched on, leading passengers to catch the wrong bus; the voice and visual notice inside the buses announcing the next stop are frequently switched off, etc. The company must be kept on its toes and, if that does not happen, then Transport Malta must be vigilant.