A traditional Malta bus will be the most unlikely representative at the forthcoming London 2012 Olympics, after it was spotted during an Olympic torch test run held on 20 April between Leicester and Peterborough. Its role will now be as an advertising medium to promote Lloyds TSB Bank, which has been nominated as the official banking and insurance partner, to millions of viewers from around the globe during these games from 27 July to 12 August.

Painted in a mix of white and green with a yellowish touch and bearing the Lloyds TSB logo on top, the bus underwent a major overhaul since its last day of service in Malta last July, as it was converted to a double-decker. Its presence in the final preparations for this highly-anticipated quadrennial event did not go unnoticed by UK bus enthusiasts, which reckoned immediately the origins of this particular vehicle and posted a picture on Flickr.com.

Though the sight of this bus might not evoke such fond memories to the majority of public transport users in Malta, bus enthusiasts abroad were “shocked” as soon as they discovered that part of this vehicle was “butchered” to convert it as a double-decker.

The photo posted by Steven Brandist aroused an interesting discussion from which more information started to emerge about the origin of this classic Malta bus. After some thorough investigations and using his own personal records, one of the bloggers identified this bus as having registration number EBY528 during its service in Malta. This has now become SKR801G in the UK, with the letter ‘G’ suggesting it has an old chassis being a vintage vehicle.

One particular blogger nicknamed ‘Chairmanchad’ whose real identity is Richard Stedall, currently residing in Devon, pointed out that its chassis was assembled in Malta in early 1968 using another disassembled chassis previously imported into Malta in October 1965. He also suggested that it would have been either a Bedford SL or an AEC Mercury. Further to that he claimed it was bodied by Debono and certified roadworthy in September of 1969.

Another interesting photo posted by one of the bloggers dates back to 9 May last year. Alan Edwards shot this particular bus near Castille in Valletta, after he had just boarded it for the last time. At the time, this bus was being used to provide the shuttle service from the Valletta terminus as access to the capital was closed while City Gate was being demolished.

Interestingly enough, another blogger posted a picture, suggesting that the bus either broke down midway through the test or was transported on site by a trailer. The discussion then centred on the possible reasons behind the decision to use such an old vehicle by one of the main sponsors.

Contacted by The Malta Independent, Heritage Malta Chief Curator Kenneth Gambin said that this particular bus was not among the 20 old buses donated by Transport Malta last year to be preserved for their historical value. It is hoped that these buses, which are being stored at the former Marsa Shipbuilding hangars, will eventually form part of an industrial museum. However, it was decided to put up for sale the remaining buses which were going to be scrapped and this decision paid dividends as some of them attracted enough interest to be sold.