The introduction of the Arriva bus system was met with plaudits and appreciation but also with derision and outright criticism. Enough time has, however, now elapsed to allow us to appraise the system, be it positively or negatively.

I do not use the Arriva transport on a regular basis, but when I have done, it has mainly been on regular routes which, under the old system, were well served and are still well served today. Of course, everything is in more comfort. Air-conditioned buses in the middle of summer are great. I have, however, spoken to a number of people who use the system regularly and, apart from the matter of comfort, all have been unanimous in their criticism.

Under the new system, rather than having fixed points in certain localities, hubs were created in a number of areas with the intention of having a regular, circulatory system around Malta. Quite frankly, this has not worked. Getting to and from one place to another has become more difficult due to the lengthy time the buses are taking and the irregularity and infrequency of the arrival times themselves. The old system simply worked better. What does seem to have improved is the possibility of control in the sense that, when problems have arisen, these can be tackled with one service-provider as opposed to the previous situation when one would have to satisfy all the various bus owners – something that has not always worked positively. This is, however, also a double-edged sword in that if the service provider does not accede to the Government’s requests, then a problem will arise (and has already done so on occasion).

I still fail to understand why the old routes were discarded. They served us well and had been doing so for decades. In all honesty, I believe that all we needed was an extension of routes to areas which did not have service. This did not require wholesale change: just a simple extension and the introduction of some new routes would have amply sufficed.

There is also the problem of the size of the majority of the buses. Most are, quite simply, far too large for our roads and traffic. The congestion that is being caused in Mellieħa, Sliema and Attard, to name but three places, could have been avoided if properly planned. I still fail to understand why, if change was the only way forward, having smaller buses at more frequent intervals was not the chosen option. This would have been the optimum solution and would have worked much better than the present one.

Basically, we are beset with the same problems we had before, which have been exacerbated with the removal of certain routes, the extension of the journey time, the infrequency of the schedule and the size of the buses. At the time of the change, I saw no reason for such a drastic change and still cannot understand it. Comfort is fine, but when it is not accompanied with proper service, it serves no purpose. Much still has to be done before we can say that the introduction of the Arriva public transport system has been a success.