One of the few improvements of the Arriva Public Transport Services compared to the several disadvantages of the previous old service has been the bus route from and to Malta International Airport. Or so we have been told. This newer bus service has in fact been extended to the four corners of the island with the introduction of X-1, X-2, X-3, X-4, X-5, X-7 and 201 buses, and also comes with a much improved luggage space which was practically inexistent on the older buses.
It turns out however, that even in this particular bus service, deficiencies prevail which deters the travelling public from making use of it as it causes a public inconvenience rather than a convenience as has been experienced by a close friend of mine.
On arriving in Malta from abroad, this friend of mine who had been travelling on a tight budget, decided to make use of this bus service. However, when the airport bus arrived at her home town, and she rang the bus stop bell, the airport bus did not stop on the regular bus stop which turns out to be just a few meters away from her residence, but stopped about half a kilometre further up the road on what was termed by the bus driver as the designated stop for airport buses. Consequently, my friend had to drag her luggage off the bus, cross a heavy trafficked road, walk to a bus stop stage located about 200 meters further up the road to catch an already crowded regular bus to take her back down the road to approximately 100 meters from her residence. All this hardship endured by my dear frail friend could have been avoided had the airport bus be allowed to stop at the regular bus stops.
It defies logic how the route stops for these airport buses have been planned in such an inconvenient way. Perhaps this is another inherited blunder from the previous overpaid consultants who had taken two years to plan the new public transport system but failed miserably when it was launched. It is high time the present administration rectifies such shortcomings in the interest of the general public and the public transport services. A surcharge of 50c on this particular route would be appropriate if stopping on regular bus stops is deemed to cause a slight increase in fuel consumption, and as compensation for the provision of extra luggage space. This extra charge might also help the current public bus service make ends meet, considering its financial losses.
Raymond Sammut
Mellieha