Three buses do not just catch fire in three days. If there was an isolated incident, it would be one thing. But there is a pattern emerging and well, the facts speak for themselves. Arriva on Monday issued a statement saying that its fleet is safe and there is no cause for alarm.

Well, we beg to differ. Three buses catching fire in the space of as many days means that they are not safe, plain and simple.

The company has said that the police have not ruled out arson. We also disagree there. What the company might have meant is that the buses could have been sabotaged. This could be the case, but why now, after two years? Let us not forget that the bendy buses had been withdrawn from London’s Arriva fleet after one caught fire.

At the end of the day, one would have to say that the whole country is breathing a huge sigh of relief at the news of the withdrawal of the bendy buses. They caused countless traffic jams because they were just too big and too wide for Malta’s roads. They also used to chug up hills and break down, causing countless tailbacks and frustration to everyone involved. Motorists also had to be very careful on dual carriageways as when negotiating bends, the buses encroach on the other lane, often leading the person in the other lane to take drastic action to avoid being hit.

And what to say of the fiascos where bendy buses came head to head and one of them reversed back round the corner, only to have the safety mechanism go off and make the bus cut out if the bendy part went over a certain angle?

What to say of the times that the buses have jack-knifed and been involved in accidents. Good riddance is the expression. Although everyone is just glad to see the back of them, a full investigation should now take place. It is only by sheer good fortune that people were not hurt in the blazes that erupted over the past days. Earlier in the day, the General Workers Union had also called for the removal of the buses, citing the wellbeing of employees as well as customers. It was perfectly within its rights to do so and is to be applauded for pushing the initiative. Arriva entered into a service contract with the government. It has clearly not delivered and three buses catching fire is certainly (at least morally) a breach of the said contract. The company has been ordered to remove the buses from service and make good in other ways in terms of ensuring continuity of service. They can have no complaints. Meanwhile, the people who were involved in the drawing up of the Arriva strategy should shoulder responsibility and be held accountable for what they lumped the country with.