This morning I saw one of the very old buses – the one which used to do the Valletta-Zurrieq route resprayed in its original orange colour, with new leather seats, new glass windows, and the old leather hanging straps for standing passengers – parked in front of a hotel in Qawra waiting to take tourists on some day trip. What a lovely and nostalgic sight!

Just imagine if we have quite a number of the very old buses refurbished, and resprayed in their original different colours – dark blue (Rabat), yellow (Siggiewi), light blue (Mellieha), red with green stripe (Zabbar) etc. being used for tourist trips around the island! I am certain that tourists will simply love them. And will be a boon for Malta’s tourism product!

Is it possible for the government to consider ways of encouraging owners who still have these very old buses in their garages, to bring them back on Malta’s roads? Of course, to be allowed back on Malta’s roads, they have to be refurbished to the same standard of the bus I saw this morning. No need to have air-conditioning as long as they have new glass windows that can be opened.

How about it, Minister Karmenu Vella?

Eddy Privitera

MOSTA